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CHURCH   WORK  WITH   BOYS 


"There  are  some  ways  in  which  we  can  play 
on  an  instrument  and  some  ways  in  which  we 
can  not.  Instead  of  blaming  the  instrument,  we 
had  better  learn  the  stops." 

W.  H.  P.  Faunce. 


CHURCH   WORK 
WITH    BOYS 


BY 

WILLIAM   BYRON   FORBUSH 

AUTHOR    OF    "the    BOY    PROBLEM" 


zo8l8 


THE    PILGRIM    PRESS 

BOSTON  NEW  YORK  CHICAGO 


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Copyright,  igio 
By  Luther  H.  Cart 


THE  •  Pr.IMPTON  .  PRESS 

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HOaWOOD  •  MASS  •  U  •  8  •  A 


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PREFACE 

The  Boy  Problem  was  a  study  of  boyhood  in 
general,  with  some  special  application  to  the 
various  forms  of  social  work  with  boys,  and,  in 
the  last  edition,  some  reference  to  the  boy  in  the 
home. 

This  smaller  book  deals  solely  with  one  special 
but  important  part  of  such  social  work,  that  done 
for  boys  in  our  churches.  It  exalts  the  signifi- 
cance of  it,  states  its  principles,  and  goes  into 
details  as  to  methods,  books,  and  organizations 
for  the  religious  education  of  boys  in  the  Church. 

The  book  is  designed  for  the  reading  of  Church 
workers  and  for  study  in  classes  by  those  who  are 
preparing  to  be  of  service  to  the  men  of  tomorrow. 
For  the  latter  especially,  each  chapter  concludes 
with  hints  for  first-hand  study,  outlines  for  report, 
and  suggestions  for  further  reading. 


William  Byron  Forbush. 


The  North  Woodward  Avenue 
Congregational  Church,  Detroit. 


V] 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

I.   What    Church    Work    with    Boys 

Means  .      .            i 

II.  The  Way  of  God  with  a  Boy  .      .  8 

III.   The   Principles   of  Church   Work 

with  Boys 19 

rV.  The  Work  of  Men  for  Boys     .      .  28 

V.   How   TO   Teach    a    Boys'    Sunday- 
school  Class 47 

VI.   How  TO  Conduct  a  Church  Boys* 

Club 61 

VII.   Boys  and  the  Kingdom    ....  83 

Bibliography 95 

Index 103 


Vll 


K 


Church  Work  with   Boys 


WHAT  LliLkCH   WORK  WITH 
BOYS  MEANS 
20^78 

There  may  be  a  few  pastors  and  church  members 
who  still  think  that  social  work  with  boys  is  either 
something  of  a  fad  or  at  least  an  elective.  To 
such  it  seems  necessary  to  explain  that  it  is  the 
absolute  essential  if  boys  are  to  be  brought  into 
the  Kingdom.  Social  work  with  boys  in  the 
church  does  not  necessarily  imply  gymnasia  or 
apparatus  or  elaborate  kinds  of  boys'  clubs,  such 
as  can  be  conducted  only  in  churches  of  wealth 
or  by  people  of  exceptional  ability  and  leisure. 
Social  work  with  boys  is  simply  a  modern  expres- 
^sion  of  incarnation. 

^      What  is  meant  is  xhis:  The  sttdy  of  childhood 

^  teaches  us  that  boys  are  brought  into  the  Christian 

--life,  not  by  the  formal  teaching  of  truth  in  sermon 

\  and   Sunday-school   class,  but   by   the   contagion 

^  of     Christian     character     in     actual     operation. 

"Character  is  caught,  not  taught."     Just  as  our 

Master   became    the    incarnation   of   the    life   of 

God  in  our  human  life,  so  the  leader  of  boys  must 

become  the  incarnation  of  the  life  of  the  Master 

in  their  lives.     Church  work  with  boys  gives  the 

opportunity  for  a  man  to  live  the  Christlike  life 

in  companionship  with  boys.     One  man  will  do 

that  effectively  just  by  his  example  in  the  com- 

[il 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

munity.  Another  will  thus  influence  boys  by 
occasional  contact  with  them  in  the  Sunday-school 
class  or  at  his  home,  but  as  such  occasions  are  too 
fortuitous  and  infrequent  for  the  certainty  of 
real  influence,  the  devoted  leader  of  boys  will 
covet  regular  social  opportunities  for  influence. 

A  few  men  have  been  able  by  personal  work, 
which  in  its  finest  meaning  is  tactful  personal 
interest  and  evangelism,  to  bring  boys  one 
by  one  into  vital  relations  with  God  and  with 
manly  character.  Suitable  opportunities  for  such 
approach  are  difficult  to  secure,  and  the  avenue 
of  such  intimacy  is  a  difficult  one  to  travel.  Most 
people  who  say  they  depend  upon  this  method 
are  likely  to  be  neglectful  in  their  exercise  of  it. 
The  reserved  soul  of  a  boy  is  not  to  be  burglar- 
ized, and  most  wise  leaders  feel  that  an  acquaint- 
ance formed  through  play  or  some  other  wholesome 
interest  of  youth  is  the  best  way  of  approach  to 
affairs  of  the  spirit.  The  interesting  recent 
studies  that  have  been  made  of  "the  gang"*  show 
that  instinctive  social  organization,  especially 
for  outdoor  play,  but  also  for  wintertime  sport 
indoors,  is  almost  universal  among  boys.  The 
leader  who  takes  advantage  of  this  instinct  is 
not  calling  together  boys  out  of  their  homes  who 
would  otherwise  be  there;  he  is  simply  either 
summoning  a  ready-made  "gang,"  or  he  is  arrang- 
ing a  new  one  from  members  of  several  others. 
It  has  been  questioned  whether  any  man-made 
"gang"  is  as  strong  as  a  boy-made  one.  The  writ- 
er's experience  is  that  sometimes  a  "gang"  may 
be  adopted  by  a  worker  outright,  or  that,  in  time, 
a  worker  may  lead  in  creating  a  "gang"  which  is 

'  Summarized  in  The  Boy  Problem. 
[2] 


WHAT  CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS  MEANS 

fully  as  loyal  and  persistent  as  any  of  those  in 
the  neighborhood.  To  do  either  of  these  things, 
common  sense  would  indicate  that  the  leader 
should  try  to  follow  the  line  of  least  resistance 
in  the  choice  of  members,  the  plan  of  organizing, 
and  the  matter  of  self-government.  It  is  his 
own  tact  and  his  superior  resource  which  make 
him  an  acceptable  member  of  the  group,  - 

What  then,  essentially,  is  the  boys'  club  for.? 
It  is  the  opportunity  actually  to  live  out  a  certain 
portion  of  the  normal  life  together.  It  is  a  real 
gymnasium  or  laboratory  of  life.  In  the  Sunday- 
school  class  the  teacher  preaches  fairness,  gener- 
osity, truth,  and  virtue;  in  the  club  he  tries,  in  the 
real  situations  of  the  club  life,  to  be  fair,  gener- 
ous, true,  and  virtuous  with  them,  and  this  without 
preaching.  The  home  and  the  school  are  of  course 
the  chief  laboratories  of  life,  but  the  boy  comes 
so  enthusiastically  to  his  club  that  its  effects 
are  of  unparalleled  intensity.  The  home  and 
the  school  chiefly  develop  individualism,  the 
club  uses  the  cumulative  influence  of  the  group. 
There,  chiefly,  the  boy  learns  the  brotherhood 
of  man.  The  club,  though  only  occasionally 
in  session,  calls  out  a  new  moral  problem  every 
moment  when  it  meets.  In  its  uses  of  enthusiasm, 
cooperation,  and  eager  activity  it  affords  us  the 
most  practical  and  effective  exercise  of  will  possi- 
ble in  any  human  conjunct  relation.  It  becomes, 
in  President  G.  Stanley  Hall's  fine  phrase,  "gen- 
tlemen practising  noblesse  oblige.^* 

Beyond  this  general  influence  there  are  a  number 
of  special  ones  which  can  only  be  barely  named  in 
passing.  The  supervised  club  gives  safe  expres- 
sion for  the  "gang"  instinct,  which  at  its  worst  is 

[3l 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

the  mob-spirit,  and  at  its  best  is  the  power  of 
friendship-making.  This  segregation  of  boys  in 
the  club  tends  to  prolong  boyhood,  prevent  pre- 
cocity, and  postpone  sex-functioning,  thus  retain- 
ing wholesome  boyishness  as  long  as  possible. 
It  offers  an  opportunity  for  the  expression  and 
satisfaction  of  certain  instincts  which  are  best 
expressed  during  boyhood.  The  boy  who  has 
his  fill  of  military  drill,  for  example,  is  less  likely 
to  want  to  be  a  soldier  later.  The  boy  who 
belongs  to  some  supervised  club  with  a  mystery 
to  it  is  less  likely  to  become  a  "lodge  fiend."  It 
often  reveals  vocational  aptitudes  and  is  in  other 
ways  a  help  to  a  boy  in  self-discovery  and  self- 
realization. 

The  study  of  childhood  has  also  of  late  laid 
the  greatest  emphasis  upon  the  importance  of 
the  social  instinct  even  in  the  religious  decision 
of  youth.  So  strong  in  every  department  of 
immature  life  is  the  influence  of  companions 
that  it  seems  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  boys  are 
candidates  for  individuality  rather  than  complete 
individuals,  and  that,  to  a  degree  greater  than  has 
been  realized,  they  live  the  conjunct  life.  If 
this  be  indeed  a  law  of  the  soul  during  the  adoles- 
cent years,  then  the  social  approach  is  not  only 
the  most  direct  and  wholesome,  but  it  is  the  only 
complete  approach,  and  it  may  be  questioned 
whether  a  boy  who  enters  into  the  religious  life 
entirely  alone  really  gets  all  his  birthright. 

These  psychological  explanations  are  placed  in 
the  forefront  so  that  in  the  discussions  of  detailed 
methods  that  follow  the  reader  may  remember 
that  methods  are  suggested  not  for  their  own 
sake,  but   for   the   purpose  of  utilizing  our  best 

[4] 


WHAT  CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS  MEANS 

knowledge   of  child   nature   in   the   most   skillful 
Christian  craftsmanship. 

We  have  apparently  passed  pretty  well  through 
the  era  of  organizing  in  church  life.  It  is 
becoming  realized  that  the  Church  often  has 
too  much  machinery  for  its  power,  and  church 
workers  groan  when  anything  additional  is  pro- 
posed in  the  way  of  detail  in  church  work.  The 
only  objection  that  has  been  urged  in  Brother- 
hood circles  to  work  with  boys  is  that  aroused 
by  the  fear  that  the  Brotherhood  itself  is  pro- 
posing such  a  complex  program  that  it  is  going 
to  give  the  men  of  the  Church  about  all  they 
can  attend  to  for  the  present.  In  response 
to  these  objections  it  should  immediately  be 
stated  that  church  boys'  work  does  not  involve 
more  organization  and  machinery,  and  that,  as 
far  as  the  Brotherhood  is  concerned,  boys'  work 
is  not  an  adjunct  organization;  it  is  one  of  the 
two  or  three  central  tasks  for  which  the  Brother- 
hood exists.  To  put  it  even  more  simply,  church 
work  with  boys  is  not  new  societies,  it  is  the  Church 
at  its  work  of  evangelizing  its  own  sons.  And 
as  for  the  Brotherhood,  it  is  not  the  Brotherhood's 
luxury,  it  is  the  Brotherhood's  job. 


WHAT  OTHERS  SAY 

"The  gang  instinct  itself  is  almost  a  cry  of  the  soul 
to  be  influenced." 

—  G.   Stanley   Hall. 

"The  bad  boy  is  what  I  am,  except  for  a  friend  and 
the  grace  of  God." 

—  LiLBURN  Merrill. 

Isl 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

"It  is  doubtful  if  a  boy  can  be  taught  anything  by 
counselling.  We  can  teach  him  by  example,  but  the  most 
impressive  way  to  gain  knowledge  is  by  experience." 

—  G.  A.  Dickinson. 

"Education  being  a  social  process,  the  school  is 
simply  the  form  of  community  life  in  which  all  those 
agencies  are  concentrated  that  will  be  most  effective 
in  bringing  the  child  to  share  in  the  inherited  resources 
of  the  race,  and  to  use  his  own  powers  for  social  ends. 
I  believe  that  education,  therefore,  is  a  process  of  living, 
and  not  a  preparation  for  future  living." 

—  John  Dewey. 

"Education  is  friends  seeking  happiness  together." 

—  Epicurus. 

HINTS   FOR   FIRST   HAND   STUDY 

Did  you  ever  belong  to  a  "gang"  when  you  were  a 
boy? 

Did  you  respond  readily  to  its  influences.? 

How  did  its  influence  compare  in  potency  with  those 
of  the  sermons  you  heard  when  a  boy.''  In  the  shaping 
of  your  ideals.''     In  the  regulation  of  your  conduct.? 

Which  influenced  you  the  more  in  these  directions, 
the  "gang"  or  your  Sunday-school? 

Were  these  two  sets  of  impressions  antagonistic  or 
simply  utterly  unrelated? 

Whose  fault  is  it  that  the  Church  and  its  school  are 
not  more  attractive  to  growing  boys?  Is  it  fair  to  say 
of  the  Church  that  it  seldom  honors  boys  by  taking 
the  trouble  to  understand  them?  Considering  their 
impressibility,  their  peril,  and  their  possibility,  are  our 
own  churches  giving  boys  all  they  deserve?  Does  the 
Church  service  or  the  Sunday-school  session  give  much 
opportunity  for  the  incarnation  of  adults  in  boys, 
referred  to  above?  Do  they  give  much  chance  for 
living  out  any  of  the  moral  life  together? 

What  ought  we  to  do  then? 

[6] 


WHAT  CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS  MEANS 


OUTLINE  FOR  STUDY  OF  THE  TOPIC 

The  ways  by  which  adults  may  influence  boys: 

By  example. 

By  religious  teaching. 

By  personal  work. 

In  club  life. 
The  advantages  and  limitations  of  each  method. 
The  "gang"  vs.  the  chaperoned  boys'  club:  studied  as  to  sponta- 
neity, flexibility,  permanency,  moral  influence. 


SUGGESTIONS   FOR   FURTHER  READING 
ON    THIS   TOPIC 

G.  Stanley  Hall,  Adolescence,  Vol.  II,   pp.  417-448. 
F.  G.  Bonser,  Chums,  a  Study  of  Youthful  Friendship.     Pedagog- 
ical Seminary,  June,  1902. 


[7] 


II 

THE  WAY  OF  GOD  WITH  A  BOY 

The  heading  of  this  chapter  is  suggested  by 
that  beautiful  title  which  Horace  Bushnell  selected 
for  his  proposed  autobiography,  "The  Way  of 
God  with  a  Soul."  While  a  full  study  of  the 
religious  development  of  boys  is  impossible  here, 
it  does  seem  wise  to  furnish  an  outline  sufficient 
for  us  to  understand  clearly  how  the  boy  is  develop- 
ing as  an  individual,  as  well  as  in  his  relation  to 
his  group,  and  so  that  we  may  see  just  where  the 
social  instinct  in  a  boy's  life  emerges  in  reference 
to  his  personal  development.  The  reader  is 
referred  to  the  accompanying  chart  prepared  by 
Professor  G.  Walter  Fiske,  of  Oberlin,  which 
presents  a  conspectus  of  the  subject  which  is 
unifying,  and  is  as  accurate  as  any  chart  can  be. 
The  column  on  "Religious  Development"  has 
been  inserted  by  the  author  for  completeness. 
By  studying  this  chart,  it  is  apparent  that  the 
boy  passes  in  succession  through  religious  periods 
which  have  their  parallels  in  race  history.  By 
the  time  a  boy  comes  into  the  reach  of  the  social 
instrumentalities  of  the  Church,  he  has  passed 
out  of  the  period  of  religion  as  instinct,  has  secured 
nearly  all  that  is  to  come  to  him  from  the  period 
of  religion  as  habit,  and  is  dwelling  either  in  the 
region  of  religion  as  sentiment  or  of  religion  as 

[8] 


THE  WAY  OF  GOD  WITH  A  BOY 


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[9 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

will.     It  is  these  two  latter  periods,  then,  which 
are  especially  under  attention  and  study. 

The  period  of  religion  as  sentiment  in  a  boy's 
life  is  a  very  short  one.  It  is  parallel  physically 
with  the  bodily  revolution  of  early  adolescence. 
It  is  the  time  of  personal  loyalty,  especially  to  a 
hero.  This  is  the  period  when  conversion  is 
first  apt  to  occur,  and  when  it  occurs  at  this  time 
it  is  usually  accompanied  by  strong  feeling.  A 
boy  would  be  more  apt  to  be  converted  at  a  revival 
now  than  during  the  period  which  follows.  He 
would  also  be  influenced  more  in  his  conversion 
by  the  "gang"  than  he  would  in  the  next  period. 
Conversions  which  occur  during  these  two  or 
three  years  are  often  discouraging  to  the  parent 
or  teacher,  because  they  do  not  seem  to  be  followed 
by  any  noticeable  improvement  in  conduct. 
This  is  because  the  boy's  nature  has  not  yet 
acquired  the  third  dimension,  that  of  depth. 
The  boy  lives  in  the  realm  of  feeling,  rather  than 
of  will.  The  endeavor  of  religious  education 
during  this  period  is  to  provide  the  boy  with  the 
right  heroes,  both  in  books  and  in  life.  The 
emphasis  of  Sunday-school  courses  ought  to  be 
biographical.  This  is  the  time  for  teaching  in 
a  convincing  and  inspiring  way,  not  only  the  life 
of  Jesus  and  of  the  Bible  heroes,  but  also  the 
heroic  men  and  women  who  have  lived  since. 
This  is  also  the  period  when  the  influence  of  a 
noble  adult  leader  in  a  boys'  club  is  more  notice- 
able, although  perhaps  not  more  real,  than  in 
later  years. 

It  is  the  next  period,  that  of  middle  adolescence, 
from  fourteen  to  eighteen,  which  demands  most 
careful     study    and     endeavor.     This     stage    is 

[lo] 


THE  WAY  OF  GOD  WITH  A  BOY 

marked  in  Professor  Fiske's  chart  as  "The  Self- 
assertive  Period."  I  have  called  it,  in  the  boy's 
religious  development,  "The  Period  of  the  Religion 
of  Will."  This  is  the  time  when,  as  Professor  Coe 
has  suggested,  the  boy  really  begins  to  "person- 
alize his  religion."  It  seems  accurate  to  say,  if 
he  was  converted  in  the  preceding  period,  that  it 
was  as  much  as  one  integer  of  a  religious  "gang" 
as  it  was  as  a  religious  individual.  But  now  it 
is  the  boy  himself  who  is  converted.  In  other 
words,  the  boy  is  now  struggling  for  an  individu- 
ality of  his  own,  religious  as  well  as  otherwise, 
and  these  are  the  most  significant  years  for  charac- 
ter-building. It  is  commonly  a  period  of  domestic 
rebellion.  These  fierce  and  sometimes  unreason- 
jng  struggles  for  a  life  of  his  own,  while  the  boy  is 
finding  himself,  his  world,  and  his  mission,  are 
often  so  exasperating  and  baffling  to  others  as 
well  as  himself  that  this  stage  has  sometimes  been 
called  "the  crazy  period."  Psychologists  have 
stated  that  a  time  of  mild  criminality  is  quite 
normal  to  boys  during  these  years.  The  criminal- 
ity, however,  is  in  action,  rather  than  in  purpose. 
The  boy's  whole  moral  future  is  in  the  balance, 
and  never  does  he  more  need  guidance,  patience, 
and  good  sense  on  the  part  of  his  parents  and 
teachers  than  just  now.  The  endeavor  of  all 
adult  guidance  during  this  "fool"  age  must  be 
to  protect  the  boy  from  some  of  the  more  serious 
results  of  his  possession  of  adult  powers  without 
corresponding  adult  judgment.  Without  actually 
crippling  the  boy's  incentive  and  growing  power 
of  choice,  we  must  make  his  education  as  inex- 
pensive as  possible  to  himself  and  to  others. 
We  must  encourage  him,  but  at  the  same  time 

[II] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

also  make  him  to  be  chastened  by  reality.  We 
must  never  let  him  despair  of  himself  or  become 
discouraged  in  his  relation  to  others.  This  period 
can  probably  neither  be  avoided  nor  shortened. 
Never  is  there  a  time  when  a  boy  is  less  able  to 
take  or  appreciate  advice,  or  more  able  to  learn 
from  his  own  experience.  President  Henry  B. 
Brown,  of  Valparaiso,  counselling  once  regarding 
a  boy  who  was  just  in  this  stage,  made  this  wise 
statement:  "Never  take  a  boy  from  an  unlearned 
lesson.  No  time,  no  matter  how  long,  is  wasted 
until  he  has  learned  it.  And  never  try  to  teach 
it  to  him.  He  will  not  thank  you  until  he  has 
discovered  it  himself.  Some  day  he  will  come  to 
you  and  say,  'Now  I  know  what  I  have  been 
learning. ' "  Just  here,  where  the  parents  in  the 
home  often  become  discouraged  or  find  that  they 
have  lost  the  confidence  of  their  boy,  or  where 
the  school  teacher  has  lost  his  patience,  the 
boy's  club  leader  or  the  Sunday-school  teacher, 
who  comes  a  little  closer  socially  to  the  boy  and 
sees  him  at  his  best,  has  often  a  priceless  oppor- 
tunity. Not  being  nagged  by  daily  contact  with 
the  lad,  he  can  get  a  bird's-eye  view  of  him, 
overlooking  details,  and  remaining  prophetic 
and  hopeful  for  his  future.  Such  a  leader  is 
often  the  only  person  in  the  world  who  seems 
willing  to  do  the  boy  the  courtesy  of  regarding 
him  as  an  individual.  It  is  the  old  story  of  the 
prodigal  son  repeated,  and  it  actually  seems 
necessary  for  every  boy  to  pass  through  the  experi- 
ence of  the  far  country,  not  necessarily  of  sin, 
but  of  alienation  from  his  father  and  his  home,  in 
order  that  he  may  discover  himself  and  eventu- 
ally come  back  redeemed  to  his  father's  house. 

[12] 


THE  WAY  OF  GOD  WITH  A   BOY 

Those  who  have  watched  boys  patiently  through 
these  trying  years  bring  good  testimony  to  the 
fact  that  it  is  worth  while  to  await  these  "soul- 
births"  and  spiritual  fruitions. 

Among  the  modifying  influences  that  affect 
the  religious  development  of  boys  during  these 
years,  probably  the  most  important  one  is  that 
of  sex.  Sometimes  this  influence  is  manifested 
by  an  acquaintance  formed  with  an  older  girl. 
The  influence  in  this  case  is  likely  to  be  whole- 
some, because  the  affection  involved  is  much  like 
that  of  a  knight  of  the  olden  times  for  his  chosen 
lady.  Sometimes  it  is  far  different  in  character 
and  in  influence.  The  Church  and  the  home 
have,  as  has  previously  been  stated,  an  important 
duty  in  preparing  for  the  possibility  of  such 
influences  by  wise  instruction  and  a  guarded 
environment.  It  must  be  realized  that  almost 
no  religious  change  of  importance  takes  place 
between  the  age  of  fourteen  and  maturity  that 
does  not  involve  some  amount  of  sex  influence. 

The  influence  of  the  "gang,"  as  we  have  been 
saying  all  along,  is  also  important  religiously, 
although  it  grows  less  evident  as  the  boy  matures 
to  the  period  of  self-assertion  and  self-reliance. 
It  never  fails,  however,  to  assist  or  prevent,  and 
always  to  qualify,  the  character  of  a  boy's  religious 
experience. 

The  matter  of  expectation  also  modifies  a  boy's 
character.  The  kind  of  early  religious  develop- 
ment produced  in  the  church  which  expects  a 
cataclysm  of  conversion  will  evidently  be  different 
from  that  one  which  is  brought  about  by  quieter 
methods  of  steady  nurture. 

A  boy's  own  temperament  must  always  be  taken 

[13  I 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

into  consideration  in  the  study  of  his  religious 
growth.  All  boys  have  a  proper  reserve  upon 
these  subjects  at  this  time,  which  is,  no  doubt, 
self-protection.  The  adult  leader  who  finds  that 
certain  boys  are  fond  of  self-expression  and  are 
ready  to  talk  religion  ought  to  realize  that  he  is 
dealing  with  deeper  and  more  difficult  natures 
when  he  has  to  do  with  those  who  do  not  open 
their  hearts  so  readily. 

Taking  all  these  facts  into  consideration,  it  is 
evident  that  the  Church  has  important  relations 
toward  the  making  of  a  boy's  character  in  wider 
fields  than  has  usually  been  supposed.  Perhaps 
the  most  important  function  which  the  Church 
supplies  is  to  become  to  boys  the  matrix  for  their 
religious  thought.  As  we  have  previously  empha- 
sized, it  may  not  be  so  much  what  the  Church 
actually  teaches,  as  the  atmosphere  in  which 
it  immerses  its  scholars.  The  difference  be- 
tween those  who  have  been  religiously  nurtured 
and  those  who  have  not  is  apparent  even  under 
our  present  imperfect  methods  of  Christian 
training.  The  young  person  who  has  not  been 
a  church  attendant,  who  is  converted  at  a  revival, 
is  generally  disappointing,  because  he  seems  to 
have  no  moral  foundations.  It  begins  to  appear 
that  the  important  question  is  not,  "Are  you 
converted.'"'  but  "To  what  are  you  converted.'"' 
The  Church  gives  to  those  who  have  been  in 
its  schools  the  background  of  a  sound  religious 
training. 

In  the  next  place,  the  Church  helps  the  boy 
by  giving  him  a  healthy  environment.  In  this 
thing,  of  course,  it  cannot  take  the  place  of  the 
home,  but  it  can  help  neutralize  the  bad  home, 

[14] 


THE  WAY  OF  GOD  WITH  A  BOY 

and  help  supplement  the  good  one.  Here  is 
where  the  church  club,  with  its  healthy  environ- 
ment, supplements  the  church  school  with  its 
moral  atmosphere.  The  author  has  spoken  of 
this  matter  at  the  end  of  Chapter  IV. 

The  Church  also,  to  a  limited  degree,  especially 
during  the  years  between  ten  and  fourteen,  can 
help  establish  good  habits  in  a  boy.  It  not  only 
informs  him  as  to  what  those  habits  are,  but  it 
examines  him  to  some  extent  regarding  his  domes- 
tic conduct,  and  offers  him  some  opportunities 
for  the  display  of  good-will  in  good  conduct  in 
the  church  life. 

The  Church  nurtures  the  boy  through  the 
years  between  fourteen  and  twenty,  which  are 
especially  those  of  religious  crisis.  Here  it  ought 
both  to  protect  and  to  bring  to  fulfilment  the 
blossoming  of  his  soul.  The  place  of  the  church 
school  in  relation  to  a  boy's  conversion  is  dis- 
cussed in  Chapter  V  in  the  study  made  there  of 
Decision  Day. 

Then,  the  Church  enlarges  the  soul  of  the  boy 
by  its  social  education.  In  a  church  boys'  club 
it  develops  a  community  life,  in  which,  as  I  have 
said  again  and  again,  boys  live  out  the  moral 
life  together. 

Further,  the  Church,  both  in  its  Sunday-school 
and  in  its  clubs,  develops  the  boy  in  generous 
activity.  The  best  antidote  which  the  Church 
can  give  to  the  moral  struggle  and  the  despair 
of  the  revolutionary  years  between  fourteen  and 
eighteen  is  by  leading  the  boy  to  think  of  some- 
body besides  himself.  He  will  gradually  regain, 
through  service,  the  religious  life  which  he  has 
begun  to  lose  through  self-assertion. 

[IS] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

Finally,  the  teacher  or  club  leader  has  with  the 
boy  passing  into  the  last  period  of  boyhood, 
which  Professor  Fiske  has  marked  as  that  of 
"Resourcefulness,"  and  which  I  have  indicated  as 
"The  Period  of  Religion  as  Thought,"  the  impor- 
tant privilege  of  encouraging  the  boy  to  an 
adequate  preparation  for  life,  and,  by  his  knowl- 
edge of  the  boy's  capabilities,  of  directing  him 
toward  his  future  vocation. 

This  large  and  inspiring  view  of  the  privileges 
of  boy  leadership  suggests  that  there  is  no  nobler 
calling,  either  as  a  vocation  or  as  an  avocation, 
than  this  of  craftsmanship  of  the  spirit.  This 
chapter  may  fittingly  close  with  the  splendid 
definition  which  someone  has  given  of  the  ideal 
teacher:  "One  who  has  head  enough,  and  heart 
enough,  and  liberty  enough,  and  time  enough, 
to  be  a  master  in  the  kingdom  of  life." 

WHAT  OTHERS  SAY 

"Build  me  as  a  boy  if  you  would  make  a  man  of 
me. 

—  Joseph  S.  Walton. 

"The  mischief  in  a  boy  is  the  entire  basis  of  his 
education.  The  boy  could  be  made  into  a  man  out 
of  the  parts  of  him  that  his  parents  and  teachers  are 
trying  to  throw  away." 

—  Gerald  Stanley  Lee. 

"The  one  essential  purpose  of  education  is  to  set 
an  individual  to  going  from  within;  to  start  his  machin- 
ery so  that  he  will  run  himself." 

—  Ray  Stannard  Baker. 

"Let  him  hang  on  to  the  boys  by  any  sort  of  hook 
or  handle  until  they  live  past  the  age  of  barbarism  and 

[i6] 


THE  WAY  OF  GOD  WITH  A  BOY 

become  human  beings.     This  they  will  do  in  time, 
though  to  the  toiling  teacher  it  seems  an  eternity." 

—  Harold  C.  Childs. 

"Sometimes  .  .  .  with  the  real  illumination  of  the 
conduct  of  some  one  whom  he  learns  to  trust  and 
love,  he  reconstructs  for  himself  a  Figure  which  for  all 
of  us  sums  up  and  outdoes  our  hopes  —  a  Figure, 
supreme,  unique;  an  ideal,  embodied,  but  ever  idealized 
afresh;  a  Presence,  fugitive,  but  real;  a  Person  whom 
he  is  too  reverent  to  define,  but  whose  mastery  he 
admits." 

—  Charles  E.  B.  Russell. 

HINTS  FOR  FIRST  HAND  STUDY 

Take  as  an  example  some  boy  whom  you  have  upon 
your  heart  and,  pencil  in  hand,  go  over  each  detail 
of  the  chart  in  this  chapter.  Note  down  on  paper 
just  where  the  boy  is  properly  to  be  placed.  To  which 
"stage,"  which  "period,"  which  step  of  will-progress, 
of  religious  development,  and  of  allegiance  has  he 
arrived.''  You  may  note  that  he  is  farther  along  on 
one  side  of  his  nature  than  in  others.  This  will  be 
instructive.  The  whole  analysis  ought  to  be  enlighten- 
ing in  the  discovery  of  the  boy.  Read  over  this  chapter 
again  with  this  boy  solely  in  mind.  What  does  it 
suggest  as  to  your  plans  and  methods  of  dealing  with 
him.? 

OUTLINE   FOR   STUDY   OF   THE   TOPIC 

The  Period  of  Sentiment. 
The  Period  of  Self-Assertion. 
The  Period  of  Thoughtfulness. 
Modifying  Influences: 

Sex. 

The  "Gang." 

Expectation. 

Temf)erament. 

[17] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  READING 
ON   THIS   TOPIC 

George  A.  Coe,  Education  in  Religion  and  Morals,  pp.  44-69, 
195-270. 

Hanford  M.  Burr,  Adolescent  Boyhood. 

Charles  E.  McKinley,  Educational  Evangelism,  Chapters  II 
and  VI. 


[18 


Ill 

THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  CHURCH  WORK 
WITH  BOYS 

Returning  to  our  main  issue,  church  work 
with  boys,  we  may  quiet  the  fears  of  the  timorous 
by  saying  at  the  outset  that  church  work  with 
boys  is  simply  extension  of  the  Sunday-school. 
The  Sunday-school  is  the  exercise  of  the  teaching 
function  of  the  church  among  its  young,  and  work 
with  boys  is  larger  and  more  effective  teaching.  We 
may  state,  then,  as  our  first  principle  in  work  with 
boys,  that  it  is  the  outgrowth  of  the  church  school. 

The  First  Principle:    The  Extension  of  the 
Sunday-school 

The  wisest  way  to  approach  boys  socially  is 
upon  the  basis  of  the  Sunday-school  class  as  the 
integer.  The  ideal  Sunday-school  is  one  com- 
pletely organized  in  these  two  directions:  educa- 
tionally, a  series  of  graded  textbooks  for  every 
grade  of  pupils;  socially,  a  series  of  graded  social 
opportunities  for  every  grade  of  pupils. 

In  the  large  city  school  this  would  mean  that, 
just  as  each  class  meets  regularly  to  study  on 
Sunday,  so  it  also  meets  regularly,  though  not 
necessarily  so  often,  to  have  fellowship  together 
on  a  week  day.     In  the  smaller  school  it  means 

[19] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH   BOYS 

that  classes  of  the  same  approximate  grades  will 
meet  in  this  way.  In  the  little  school  it  means 
that  boys  of  quite  diverse  ages  will  meet  thus. 
It  seems  to  the  writer  invariably  wise  that  all  the 
social  organizations  of  the  Church  for  young 
people  should  be  regarded  as  extensions  of  the 
Sunday-school.  He  is  convinced  that  if  the 
school  had  recognized  this  larger  function  a  little 
earlier,  the  Christian  Endeavor  movement  would 
never  have  gone  off  as  a  separate  educational 
and  social  movement.  And  even  now  he  believes 
it  feasible  to  bring  it  back  by  insisting  that  it  is 
the  social  organization  for  certain  definite  grades 
of  the  school.  This  correlation  prevents  a  dupli- 
cation of  method  and  an  overlapping  of  work  and 
brings  a  complete  harmony  and  a  larger  efficiency. 
The  writer  will  accordingly  insist  in  this  book, 
and  in  whatever  influence  he  may  have  in  shaping 
our  church  work  with  boys,  in  treating  it  always 
from  the  Sunday-school  standpoint  and  in  refusing 
at  any  time  to  dissociate  the  social  from  the  so- 
called  religious  work  of  the  school.  He  will  try 
always  to  correlate  the  weekday  with  the  Sunday 
work  of  the  Church  and  he  will  endeavor,  here 
and  elsewhere,  to  set  side  by  side  better  methods 
of  teaching  and  better  methods  of  working  socially, 
believing  that  the  first  are  made  perfect  by  the 
second  and  the  second  will  always  react  upon  the 
first. 

The  Second  Principle  :    The  Necessity  of  a 
Leader 

Now  the  one  essential  in  social  work  with  boys 
is  the  same  as  the  one  essential  in  the  Sunday- 

[20] 


PRINCIPLES  OF  CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

school  class,  the  adult  leader.  It  was  of  school 
teaching  that  Dr.  C.  J.  Little  spoke  when  he 
said,  "The  educational  problem  of  every  century 
is  to  find  the  schoolmaster,  not  to  found  the 
school."  We  may  paraphrase  by  saying  that 
the  social  problem  and  the  religious  problem  of 
the  body  is  to  find  the  adult  leader,  not  to  found 
the  society  or  to  find  the  method. 

The  Sunday-school  teacher  who  has  the  true 
educational  view  will  regard  the  weekday  social 
contact  with  his  class  as  the  supplementary  oppor- 
tunity that  he  needs  in  order  to  complete  his 
religious  work.  And  he  will  recognize  it,  not  as 
an  additional  burden,  but  as  a  means  of  alleviating 
the  work  of  teaching,  by  giving  him  a  better 
acquaintance  with  individuals,  revealing  points 
of  contact,  and  stimulating  that  esprit  de  corps 
which  gives  the  class  session  swing  and  coopera- 
tion. The  teachers  who  have  tried  it  will  wonder 
how  they  ever  endeavored  to  teach  without  it. 
The  results  that  come  immediately  and  constantly 
are  so  vital  that  they  are  ashamed  to  think  of 
the  kind  they  were  satisfied  with  before,  and  the 
enkindling  enthusiasm  that  comes  to  both  teacher 
and  class  is  such  that  the  teacher  is  amazed  that 
he  ever  thought  Sunday-school  work  to  be 
drudgery. 

The  next  best  thing  to  the  use  of  the  single 
class  as  a  social  organism  is  to  make  such  an 
organism  out  of  congenial  classes  under  the  leader- 
ship of  one  of  the  teachers  who  is  best  adapted 
or  most  available  for  the  purpose.  Sometimes 
one  strong  teacher  will  utilize  the  others  as  his 
assistants,  according  as  they  have  time  and  ability. 
The  third  best  method  is  for  an  outsider  to  take 

[21] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

charge  of  the  social  department  of  the  Sunday- 
school  work,  keeping  the  most  sympathetic  con- 
tact with  the  teachers  and  bringing  them  into 
the  social  work  as  much  as  possible. 

Of  the  qualifications  of  the  leader  this  is  to  be 
said:  He  should  be  a  person  of  genuine  character. 
Owing  to  the  intimate  personal  problems  with 
which  the  wise  leader  of  boys  must  deal,  it  may 
be  said  that,  other  things  being  equal,  he  had 
better  be  a  man,  but  so  many  women  have  done 
such  work  so  magnificently  that  we  have  to 
acknowledge  that  in  this  world  other  things  often 
are  not  equal.  The  second  quality  of  the  leader 
is  a  patience,  sympathetic  and  prophetic,  and 
that  quality  is  so  distinctly  common  with  women 
that  it  avails,  even  though  masculinity  is  not 
present.  While  it  may  be  too  much  to  say  that 
character  and  sympathetic  patience  are  all  that 
are  required  of  a  leader  of  boys,  it  does  seem  that 
in  the  Kingdom,  to  which  not  many  mighty  are 
called,  the  Lord  does  use  commonplace  folks  who 
have  those  traits  for  most  encouraging  results. 
If  a  sense  of  humor  and  ingenuity  of  device  may 
not  almost  be  regarded  as  subdivisions.of  patience, 
they  are  certainly  its  consummate  flowers. 

The  Third  Principle:  The  Utilization  of  Play 

The  two  most  potent  interests  of  boyhood  are 
undoubtedly  play  and  friendship.  Every  peda- 
gogue is  striving  to-day  to  utilize  them  both  to 
the  fullest  in  the  educational  processes.  The 
Church  must  do  the  same  if  it  is  to  do  a  complete 
work  of  religious  education. 

Play,  though  apparently  a  simple  thing,  is  not 

[22] 


PRINCIPLES  OF  CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

easily  defined.  It  is  not  the  opposite  of  work, 
for  every  kind  of  play  involves  work.  It  is  rather 
joy  in  work.  Neither  is  play  synonymous  with 
whim,  or  with  "fooling."  Such  a  statement 
implies  that  it  is  capricious  or  purposeless.  Play 
is  the  joyous  expression  of  natural  instincts. 
It  is  both  the  revelation  and  the  exercise  of 
nascent  powers,  and  genius  is  only  transformed 
mischief. 

Education,  therefore,  has  been  studying  the 
instincts  in  order  to  use  their  nascent  moments 
in  school  work.  Religion  is  trying  to  do  the  same 
in  its  teaching  work. 

This  explains  why  we  are  selecting  certain 
passages  of  the  Bible  for  teaching  to  boys,  because 
they  employ  joyously  the  memory-instinct  or, 
later,  the  hero-instinct.  This  explains  why  we 
introduce  some  modest  handwork  in  Sunday- 
school,  because  it  employs  joyously  the  manual 
instinct.  This  explains  why  we  try  to  use  co- 
operative methods  in  the  class,  because  they 
engage  the  "gang"  instinct. 

And  so  in  the  social  work  of  the  school.  The 
very  reason  for  the  weekday  social  work  is  that 
the  "gang"  is  bound  to  meet  anyway.  And  the 
Church  employs  the  boys'  brigade  method  because 
of  the  boys'  play  instinct  to  imitate  the  soldier; 
it  employs  the  Knights  of  King  Arthur  because  of 
the  instinct  to  imitate  the  knight;  and  the  civic 
club  because  of  the  instinct  to  imitate  the  citizen. 

The  leader  of  boys  will  learn  to  play  with  them, 
and  regard  it  not  beneath  his  dignity  to  use  a 
method  which  has  had  dignity  in  education  ever 
since  Socrates  and  Jesus,  and  which  probably 
has  more  potency  in  intellectual  and  social  and 

[23I 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

moral  evolution  during  a  number  of  years  than 
any  other.  One  would  better  not  try  to  lead 
boys  who  has  not  himself  kept  somewhat  of  the 
play  spirit. 

The  Fourth  Principle:  The  Utilization  of 
Friendship 

The  boy  alone  is  only  half  a  boy.  Not  only 
is  all  adolescent  play  gregarious,  but  adolescent 
ethics  Is  largely  the  ethics  of  the  group.  The 
"gang"  to  the  boy  is  Public  Opinion.  It  is  as 
unusual  for  a  boy  to  revolt  from  it  as  it  is  for  an 
adult  to  revolt  from  the  conventions  of  the  public 
morality  of  his  class.  As  I  have  said  elsewhere: 
"It  is  probably  from  the  'gang'  that  most  boys 
learn  first  how  to  codify  their  conduct."  This 
is  surely  an  important  fact,  for  it  suggests  that 
the  most  direct  way  to  reach  an  individual  boy's 
morals  will  be  by  raising  the  morals  of  his  circle. 
Not  only  so,  but  there  is  large  evidence  that 
even  on  so  high  a  level  as  that  of  religious  decision 
the  boy  acts  with  his  group,  a  few  as  leaders, 
most  by  collusion,  and  a  few  in  mere  imitation 
of  those  who  are  strong. 

Somewhat  as  a  heathen  nation  is  more  soundly 
evangelized  through  a  native  ministry  than  any 
alien  missionaries,  so  the  community  of  boyhood 
is  probably  more  generally  and  soundly  con- 
verted through  the  agency  of  certain  key-boys 
than  through  the  direct  motion  of  the  adult  leader. 
And  the  function  of  the  adult  leader,  like  that 
of  the  foreign  missionary,  is  chiefly,  aside  from  his 
character,  in  the  training  of  "native  workers." 

Besides  this,  the  "gang"  is  to  the  adult  leader 

[24] 


PRINCIPLES  OF  CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

the  convenient  opportunity  for  acquaintance 
with  individual  boys.  This,  after  all,  is  what 
the  leader  is  trying  to  get.  As  Professor  Hanford 
M.  Burr  points  out,  "At  no  time  of  life,  so  much 
as  in  adolescence,  are  personal  differences  so  great 
and  is  the  danger  of  treating  them  en  masse  so 
serious."  It  is  while  umpiring  the  ball  game 
that  the  leader  notes  which  boy  tries  to  play 
unfairly;  it  is  in  the  free  play  of  the  gymnasium 
that  the  leader  discovers  the  near-sightedness 
of  the  boy  who  does  not  care  for  games;  it  is  in 
the  manual  training  of  the  club  that  the  leader 
finds  in  his  agility  of  hand  the  key  to  the  con- 
trol of  the  lad  who  is  abnormally  restless  in  the 
Sunday-school  class.  And  here,  by  his  adoption 
into  the  "gang,"  the  leader  overcomes  the  suspi- 
cion of  its  members,  and  thus  sets  the  door  ajar 
for  entrance  into  each  individual's  confidence. 

The  leader  not  only  learns  thus  to  know  indi- 
viduals, but  he  learns  to  educate  individualities. 
By  the  fifteenth  year  most  boys  begin  to  emerge 
from  the  period  of  feudal  loyalty  to  that  of  self- 
discovery  and  self-assertion.  To  a  degree  they 
begin  to  outgrow  the  "gang"  —  at  least,  to  fall 
out  of  its  lockstep,  and  while  they  continue,  on 
all  levels,  to  be  influenced  by  it,  yet  they  now 
desire  and  deserve  an  increasing  measure  of  self- 
propulsion  and  independent  action.  Such  boys 
the  leader  tries  to  walk  apart  with  at  times,  to  keep 
pace  with  their  ambitions,  and  to  help  guide  their 
movements  toward  their  vocations. 

There  have  come  into  being  during  the  past 
twenty  years  a  number  of  simple,  inexpensive,  and 
practical  forms  of  social  organizations  for  boys 
which  involve  the  two  essential  elements  of  play 

[25] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

and  friendship.  Some  have  one  strong  and 
attractive  feature,  some  another.  Although  a 
few  of  them  have  risen  to  the  dignity  of  incor- 
poration and  salaried  officers,  they  are  only  tools 
for  the  worker's  use,  and  the  wisest  workers  use 
the  best  methods  they  can  secure,  from  whatever 
source.  In  a  chapter  that  follows,  the  writer  has 
attempted  to  name  and  impartially  characterize 
the  strong  points  of  the  movements  that  seem 
to  have  the  most  potency  and  enduring  value. 
Each  of  them  is  to  be  used,  as  has  been  already 
suggested,  not  as  a  separate  society,  but  as  the 
social  method  of  the  church  school. 

WHAT  OTHERS  SAY 
"Boys  should  individualize  in  work  and   socialize 

—  Joseph  S.  Walton. 

"After  all,  the  one  prime  essential  for  moral  and 
religious  education  is  that  the  young  should  live  a 
common  life  with  moral  and  religious  elders." 

—  George  A.  Coe. 

"The  will  of  the  child,  now  coming  to  itself,  is  to 
be  trained  chiefly  through  the  fellowship  of  obedience, 
the  fellowship  of  labor,  the  fellowship  of  play,  and  the 
fellowship  of  worship." 

— George  A.  Coe. 

HINTS  FOR  FIRST  HAND  STUDY 

Make  a  list  of  what  seem  to  you  to  have  been  the 
most  active  interests  of  your  adolescent  years. 

Mark  the  two  or  three  which  seemed  to  you  to  be 
paramount. 

[26] 


PRINCIPLES  OF  CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

Do  you  regard  them  now  as  wholesome  interests? 

Have  you  lost  any  of  them  since  then;  and  if  so, 
how  has  the  loss  affected  your  life? 

Could  they  or  could  they  not  have  been  more 
definitely  and  purposefully  related  to  your  moral 
development?     If  so,  how? 

Could  you  then  have  been  forcefully  reached  by 
appeals  that  ignored  your  instincts  of  play  and  friend- 
ship ? 

Is  your  own  church  making  any  use  of  play  or  friend- 
ship in  its  work  with  boys? 


OUTLINES  FOR  STUDY  OF  THE  TOPIC 

Individualizing  vs.  Socializing  the  Boy:  A  study  of  the  alternate 
importance  of  each  discipline. 

The  Minimum  Qualifications  of  Boy-leadership. 
Antidotes  against  the  Professional  Attitude  toward  Boys. 
A  Broader  Appeal  to  Boys  by  the  Church. 


SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  READING 
ON  THIS   TOPIC 

William  Byron  Forbush,  The  Boy  Problem,  pp.  19-30,  56-65. 
H.  D.  Sheldon,  The  Institutional  Activities  of  American  Children. 
'  American  Journal  of  Psychology,"  Vol.  IX,  pp.  425-448. 


27] 


IV 
THE  WORK  OF   MEN  FOR  BOYS 

These  statements  pave  the  way  to  a  definite 
conception  of  the  relation  of  the  organized  man- 
hood of  our  churches  to  boys.  Conceiving  of 
work  with  boys  as  the  extension  of  the  church 
school,  into  weekdays  as  well  as  Sunday,  under 
the  leadership  of  an  adult,  working  through  play 
and  friendship,  it  will  be  the  function  of  the  local 
Brotherhood,  wherever  it  exists,  to  encourage 
such  work.  This  six-fold  work  suggests  the 
desirability  of  organizing  in  all  our  local  Brother- 
hoods a  strong  Boys'  Committee,  and,  where 
the  Brotherhood  does  not  exist,  of  organizing  such 
a  committee  in  the  church  itself. 

The  local  Brotherhood  can  do  this  in  the 
following  ways: 

First:   Training  and  Furnishing  Leaders 

If  the  needs  of  boyhood  are  earnestly  stated 
in  any  church,  if  the  privilege  of  working  with 
them  is  enthusiastically  urged,  and  if  such  sensible 
ideals  are  made  current  as  have  been  named  in 
the  last  two  chapters,  it  would  seem  that  a  Boys' 
Committee  in  any  church  or  Brotherhood  could 
secure    manly  volunteers   to  do  this  work.     The 

[28] 


THE  WORK  OF  MEN  FOR  BOYS 

young  athlete  just  home  from  college,  the  father 
who  cares  for  his  own  sons,  the  business  man  who 
wants  to  do  religious  work  that  is  man's  size 
should  catch  a  vision  here.  The  writer  wishes 
to  testify  that  such  a  proposition,  put  up 
adequately  to  the  strongest  men,  has,  in  his  expe- 
rience, made  unnecessary  an  appeal  either  to 
women  or  to  weak  men.  The  chivalry  that  is 
latent  in  men  answers  to  this  call. 

The  "Big  Brother"  movement  among  boys  in 
the  juvenile  courts  is  an  illustration  of  an  oppor- 
tunity for  personal  work  by  men  that  requires 
no  organization  or  machinery.  There  is  also  a 
place  for  some  such  informal  service  as  sponsor  for 
boys  who  are  in  the  difficult  process  of  finding 
themselves,  boys  who  will  probably  never  reach 
the  court,  but  who  are  in  danger  of  missing  their 
best  possibilities.  Fathers  may  learn  to  do  this 
for  their  own  sons.  Many  a  father  would  be 
grateful  if  a  brother  man  in  the  church  would 
help  him  to  do  this  with  his  boy. 

Both  in  such  personal  work  and  in  social  service, 
while  leaders  of  boys  are  to  a  degree  born  not 
made,  yet  a  little  pedagogical  training  and  some 
general  enlightenment  will  do  even  the  best  leaders 
a  world  of  good,  and  a  Brotherhood  could  under- 
take no  better  task  than  to  endeavor  to  train  men 
for  this  service. 

A  series  of  thoughtful  discussions  in  the  men's 
class  for  those  who  may  become  leaders  of  boys 
would  be  even  more  concrete  and  practical.  The 
circulation  of  books  on  the  subject  among  indi- 
viduals would  also  do  good.  A  list  of  books  for 
such  reading  and  discussions  Is  given  at  the  end 
of  this  book. 

[29] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

Second:  Developing  Better  Sunday-school  Methods 

Many  Sunday-school  quarterlies  are  disappoint- 
ing as  aids  to  real  teaching  or  study  with  boys. 
Both  the  lesson  material  selected  and  the  method 
of  approach  imply  that  the  teacher  is  to  preach 
a  sermon.  The  material  is  chosen  for  its  adapta- 
bility for  discourse  on  the  choice  of  the  Christian 
life  and  the  value  of  the  Christian  virtues.  The 
approach  is  by  the  sermonette  method,  with  some 
questioning.  At  their  best,  such  handbooks  fur- 
nish illustrative  helps  that  are  very  bright  and 
ingenious,  and  sometimes  the  questions  are 
provocative.  The  danger  is  that  the  pupil  may 
have  opportunity  to  cooperate  only  with  his 
voice  and  that  his  chief  faculty  called  out  is  that 
of  memory. 

The  wise  teacher  will  seek  to  do  his  work  on 
the  plan,  not  of  weekly  climaxes  of  exhortation, 
but  of  consecutive,  patient,  religious  education, 
and  he  will  crave  for  his  boys,  beyond  mere  mem- 
orizing, the  opportunity  for  them  to  use  their 
hands,  and,  later,  a  chance  to  reason  and  discuss. 
These  are  the  values  that  need  to  be  emphasized 
in  our  lesson  helps.  The  earnest  teacher  will 
try  to  introduce  them,  even  if  his  text-book  does 
not  emphasize  them,  and  many  teachers  will 
be  grateful  for  suggestions  of  books  in  which 
handwork  and  the  discussion  method  are  dis- 
tinctly provided  for. 

The  writer  gives  elsewhere  a  list  of  the  hand- 
books, selected  from  the  mass  that  is  coming  from 
the  independent  press,  which  seem  to  him  most 
nearly  ideal.  If  the  boys'  course  of  adolescent 
grade  soon  to  be  published  in  the    new  Graded 

[30] 


THE  WORK  OF  MEN  FOR  BOYS 

International  Series  is  of  the  high  standard  of 
the  Juvenile  grades  already  published,  we  shall 
soon  have  relief  also  from  that  quarter. 

The  Boys'  Committee  will  do  a  service  to  any 
Sunday-school  if  it  will  investigate  these  new 
courses.  The  question  of  uniformity  for  the 
school  must  no  longer  stand  in  the  way  of  efficiency 
for  the  boys,  and  the  objection,  in  the  past  justly 
raised,  that  the  new  courses  were  not  practicable 
because  they  did  not  furnish  adequate  helps  for 
the  teacher,  has  now  been  thoroughly  met.  The 
problem  of  getting  teachers,  in  the  writer's  expe- 
rience, depends  much  more  than  is  usually  sup- 
posed upon  having  ready  for  the  prospective 
teacher  a  course  of  study  and  a  text-book  that  he 
thinks  he  can  use. 

While  it  is  generally  true  that  the  new  material 
is  more  expensive  than  the  old,  it  is  also  more 
permanent  and  the  teachers'  handbooks,  once 
purchased,  can  be  used  over  and  over.  So  the 
ultimate  expense  is  hardly  greater.  If  it  is,  the 
Brotherhood  that  believes  in  adequate  religious 
education  of  the  young  may  well  take  hold  here 
to  help. 

Third:  Developing  Better  Social  Work  with  Boys 

The  Brotherhood,  through  its  Boys'  Committee, 
having  secured  a  social  leader  for  the  boys,  may 
be  further  helpful  by  studying  the  matter  of 
accommodations  and  equipment.  The  writer 
would  here  and  now  state  his  conviction  that  many 
church  people  are  scared  away  from  social  work 
with  boys  in  the  church  by  the  bugbear  of  expense 
and  elaborate  equipment.     Having  himself  done 

[31] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH   BOYS 

work  with  boys  for  over  twenty  years  with  practi- 
cally no  equipment  and  with  no  money  but 
what  the  boys  themselves  furnished,  he  feels 
a  mild  wonder  at  those  who  cannot  do  this  work 
because  they  cannot  afford  it.  The  churches, 
which  have  learned  the  unprofitableness  of  the 
institutional  idea  in  other  departments,  and  that 
are  giving  up  their  soup  kitchens,  dispensaries, 
and  reading  rooms,  still  cling  to  the  vicarious 
method  in  their  boys'  work,  and  seem  to  think 
that  a  gymnasium  and  a  hired  instructor  are 
the  acme  of  possibility  in  this  direction..  Now, 
with  all  respect  to  the  gymnasium  as  a  means  of 
social  service  to  certain  neighborhoods,  the  writer 
is  sure  that  such  an  external  view  of  boys'  work 
is  bound  to  prove  disappointing  in  result  and  to 
discourage  the  doing  of  real  boys'  work,  which 
is  hand  to  hand  work.  The  secret  of  success, 
as  we  have  been  saying,  is  personality.  The 
gymnasium  instructor  may  have  it,  and  the  fact 
that  he  is  paid  to  do  his  work  is  no  detriment  to 
his  possession  of  the  trait,  but  many  boys  come 
to  some  church  gymnasiums  with  no  more  sense 
of  loyalty  than  they  have  in  going  to  the  post- 
office. 

So  the  Brotherhood  will  first  find  the  Man. 
Then  they  will  find  the  Place,  which  may  be 
very  modest  and  apparently  inadequate.  Then 
it  will  help  the  Man  in  the  Place  to  find  the 
Method.     That  is  about  all. 

Do  not  misunderstand.  A  rich  church  is 
not  excusable  in  having  nothing  but  a  cubby- 
hole for  its  boys.  A  good  leader  will  soon  make 
a  small  meeting  place  impossible.  The  writer 
has    lately   been    visiting    a    church    which    calls 

[32] 


THE  WORK  OF  MEN  FOR  BOYS 

itself  "the  cathedral  church"  of  its  section  of 
the  country.  The  church  has  a  thousand  members 
and  the  meeting  house  cost  a  quarter  of  a  million. 
It  hasn't  a  room  where  a  boy  could  do  anything 
but  sit  still.  And  sitting  still  is  not  a  boy's 
specialty.  That  church  ought  to  be  ashamed  of 
itself. 

Fourth:  Special  Work  with  Older  Boys 

Social  work  that  is  elaborate  and  continuous 
can  often  be  postponed  to  a  year  before  the  high 
school  age.  That  is  as  soon  as  the  "gang"  spirit 
gets  full  development,  and  a  strong  work  with 
high  school  boys  will  hold  the  younger  boys  in 
anticipation.  There  comes  a  time  when  a  boy 
needs  to  be  developed  by  recognition  and  by 
responsibility.  The  latter  element  can  be  fur- 
nished and  should  be  furnished  in  the  social  life 
of  the  boys'  club  and  the  church.  The  former 
can  best  come  by  an  elder-brotherly  attitude 
on  the  part  of  the  men.  When  a  boy  gets  to  that 
awkward  age  when  he  is  no  longer  a  boy  and  is 
not  yet  a  man,  it  is  well  to  take  the  presumption 
that  he  is  prospectively  a  man,  and  treat  him  so. 
The  local  Brotherhood  will  do  a  large  service, 
not  only  to  these  boys  but  to  itself,  if  it  welcomes 
boys  of  sixteen  or  eighteen  to  full  membership 
and  strives  at  times  to  accommodate  its  meetings 
and  its  methods  to  their  capacities.  It  is  a  splen- 
did sight  to  see  a  father  seated  beside  his  maturing 
son  in  a  church  fraternity  and  it  adds  manliness 
to  a  boy  when  he  can  wear  the  same  badge  as  does 
his  father.  Some  secret  fraternities  have  been 
quicker  to  learn  this  than  the  church  has. 

[33] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

Most  books  on  boy  study,  most  clubs,  most 
methods  deal  with  and  are  most  successful  with 
boys  under  sixteen.  But  where  the  church,  the 
home,  and  school  most  often  fail  is  with  boys  in 
"the  crazy  period,"  between  fifteen  and  eighteen. 
No  pastor  or  parent,  Sunday-school  or  Brother- 
hood should  be  satisfied  that  is  not  solving  this 
difficult  and  baffling  problem.  Here  is  where 
sense  and  service,  prayer  and  good  methods  and 
money  need  most  to  be  applied  by  the  modern 
church.  Some  special  attention  is  given  to  this 
problem  i\i  Chapter  VI. 

Fifth:  Working  to  Remove  Perils  from  the 
Boys'*  Pathway 

Much  social  and  religious  work  with  boys  is 
a  kind  of  nourishment  of  health  or  of  a  healing 
of  disease,  with  no  attempt  to  fight  contagion 
that  is  already  abroad.  Now  it  is  well  to  build 
up  a  boy  so  that  he  will  not  get  tuberculosis,  and 
it  is  well  to  nurse  him  back  to  health  after  he  is 
taken  sick,  but  if  tuberculosis  is  a  communicable, 
preventable  disease,  our  best  task  is  to  stamp  it 
out.  Moral  training  is  excellent  as  a  safeguard 
to  a  boy's  purity,  and  moral  impetus  is  the  essential 
aid  to  recovery  if  a  boy  loses  his  purity,  but  if 
houses  of  ill-fame  are  a  notorious  center  for  resort 
of  high  school  boys  in  any  given  community,  it 
would  seem  that  the  Brotherhood  there  would 
better  be  busy  in  putting  a  fence  at  the  top  of 
the  precipice  instead  of  providing  an  ambulance 
at  the  bottom. 

The  duty  of  informing  boys  and  girls  wisely 
as  to  the  significance  and  use  of  their  sex-functions 

[34] 


THE  WORK  OF  MEN  FOR  BOYS 

has  been  urged  very  much  of  late.  The  important 
thing  first  seems  to  be  to  urge  parents  to  do  this. 
In  the  writer's  own  city  a  committee  has  secured 
the  services  of  a  number  of  fine  family  physicians 
to  visit  Brotherhoods  and  church  women's  clubs 
and  explain  to  fathers  and  mothers  the  necessity 
and  the  methods  of  doing  this  with  their  children. 
Next  best  are  consultations  between  young  people 
and  their  family  physicians  privately,  and  next 
are  quiet  talks  by  such  physicians  to  boys'  and 
girls'  clubs  or  classes.  In  the  writer's  own 
Sunday-school  he  has  introduced  such  informa- 
tion naturally  and  unexpectedly  in  a  girls'  class, 
making  a  knowledge  of  their  own  bodies  a  part 
of  a  child-study  course  which  they  were  taking. 
In  a  boys'  club  he  has  had  this  talk  given  by  his 
family  doctor  as  one  of  three  which  were  obligatory 
in  taking  a  higher  degree. 

The  church  of  today  has  no  more  important 
and  delicate  task,  in  its  endeavor  to  help  young 
people  to  a  healthy  environment,  than  the  atti- 
tude it  takes  toward  their  amusements.  This 
attitude  ought  to  be  consistent  and  constructive. 
The  modern  church,  instead  of  easily  accepting 
a  conventional  list  of  taboos  from  the  past,  must 
try  to  discover  what  are  the  particular  and  actually 
dangerous  amusements  toward  which  its  own 
young  people  are  now  being  tempted.  And  it 
ought  to  meet  these  dangers  not  by  denunciation 
so  much  as  by  replacing  them  with  more  whole- 
some pleasures.  This  matter  is  so  important 
that  a  few  further  and  definite  words  may  well 
be  spoken. 

Three  forms  of  amusements  have  traditionally 
been  placed  under  suspicion:  cards,  dancing,  and 

I  35] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

the  theater.  The  worker  with  young  people,  in 
city  or  country,  who  realizes  how  large  a  part 
pleasure  plays  in  young  people's  lives,  is  somewhat 
dismayed  to  realize  that  these  three  embrace 
almost  all  the  available  and  regular  types  of 
amusement  in  the  ordinary  community,  and  that 
he  is  at  some  loss  to  know  what  to  substitute  for 
them.  Stripped  of  some  unfortunate  associa- 
tions, they  also  seem  to  represent  almost  the 
fundamental  as  well  as  the  most  varied  forms  of 
amusements :  cards,  the  rigor  of  spirited  intellectual 
contest,  the  joy  of  facing  contingencies,  and  the 
opportunity  for  relaxation  from  pressure;  dancing, 
the  joy  of  grace,  motion,  and  carefree  social  inter- 
course between  the  sexes;  and  the  theater,  the 
study  through  the  mimic  world  of  the  human  prob- 
lem, and  the  restfulness,  by  means  of  visions  in 
the  house  of  dreams,  of  scenes  that  relieve  this 
life's  monotony  or  gild  its  commonplaceness. 
He  wonders  if  the  church  that  has  no  word  for 
these  ancient  and  racial  sources  of  joy  but  a  frown- 
ing "No"  is  actually  meeting  and  solving  the 
real  situation.  The  church  that  would  substi- 
tute other  amusements  for  these  has  a  task  taxing 
its  inventiveness  and  patience.  The  church  that 
uses  one  or  all  of  these  for  the  purposes  of  right- 
eousness has  indeed  a  delicate,  a  skilful,  but  an 
inspiring  and  a  hopeful  social  mission. 

Let  one  state  frankly  what  seems  to  him  the 
probable  attitude  of  the  churches  in  our  own 
cities  at  least  in  the  near  future,  an  attitude  to 
which  a  few  have  consciously  arrived.  It  may 
be  put  in  this  phrase,  "We  will  not  manufacture 
sins."  To  play  games  of  skill  or  chance,  to  dance 
under  proper  restrictions,  to  go  to  clean  dramatic 

[36] 


THE  WORK  OF  MEN  FOR  BOYS 

entertainments  is  not  essentially  wrong.  These 
pleasures  are  often  misused,  but  they  are  too  in- 
fluential, too  important,  too  valuable,  and  indeed 
too  capable  of  fine  uses  to  be  either  blindly 
opposed  or  foolishly  ignored  or  indolently  toler- 
ated. We  are  dealing  today  in  our  cities,  not 
with  young  people  who  know  nothing  of  these 
things,  but  largely  with  those  who  do.  The 
homes  have  accepted  these  amusements,  too  care- 
lessly, it  is  true.  It  is  the  business  of  the  church 
not  to  allow  the  tolerance  of  the  home  or  the  com- 
mercializing of  pleasure  to  degrade  or  deprave 
our  young  people.  We  will  study  those  pleas- 
ures, we  will  use  them  as  they  ought  to  be  used, 
and  we  will  make  them  help,  not  hurt  our  boys 
and  girls. 

In  the  statements  that  follow,  some  wise  and 
earnest  people  will  be  unable  to  accord  the  writer 
their  agreement.  For  the  matter  is  truly  a  most 
complex  and  delicate  one.  But  the  positions  to 
be  stated  deserve  at  least  this  consideration,  that 
they  are  the  evolution  of  twenty  consecutive 
years  of  careful  observation  and  experience  as  a 
father,  a  teacher,  and  a  friend  of  boys. 

Card-playing  is  chiefly  a  matter  of  the  home. 
Churches  are  not  called  upon  to  introduce  it  in 
their  social  work,  and  churches,  like  settlements, 
do  not  need  to  encourage  it  in  their  social 
buildings.  The  play  of  the  playroom  or  the 
gymnasium  is  too  lively  for  the  need.  It  is  the 
business  of  the  church  to  keep  cards  in  their 
proportionate  place  in  life.  For  young  children 
they  are,  like  "Authors"  and  "Parcheesi,"  a 
merry  play  with  chance.  For  young  people  they 
are  an  occasional,  but  not  regular  bond  for  home 

[37] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

parties.  They  are  not  a  fitting  profession  for 
men  or  a  steady  afternoon  vocation  for  women. 
They  are  serviceable  to  pass  the  time  on  long 
rail  journeys  and  on  restless  evenings  after  a 
crowded  day.  The  abuse  of  them  is  a  mark  of 
intellectual  rather  than  moral  deficiency.  The 
author  has  played  cards  at  his  boys'  camps,  but 
has  encouraged  them  only  when  other  resources 
failed.  He  has  played  them  in  homes,  but  has 
with  even  more  readiness  suggested  other  games. 
He  has  made  them  a  matter  of  course  with  his 
children  and  has  watched  with  pleasure  their  grow- 
ing indifference  to  them  as  they  have  outgrown 
them.  They  could  not  conceive  how  they  can 
be  wrong.  They  have  become  eliminated  as  a 
form  of  temptation  from  their  lives. 

This  attitude  about  cards  is  not  an  unusual 
or  difficult  one  to  maintain  in  the  city,  where 
they  are  a  part  of  the  social  paraphernalia. 
But  what  shall  we  say  of  the  country  districts, 
where  they  are  still  regarded  sometimes  as  "The 
Devil's  picture  books".?  The  attitude  of  an 
educator  of  public  opinion,  and  especially  of  one 
who  undertakes  to  reverse  it,  is  a  difficult  and 
thankless  one.  And  yet  is  it  not  the  surrepti- 
tiousness  of  card-playing  in  the  country  that 
constitutes  its  mischief.'*  If  the  boys  did  not 
have  to  go  behind  the  barn,  to  the  club  room, 
or  to  the  village  groggery  to  play,  does  anybody 
suppose  that  cards  would  really  be  dangerous.'* 
Away  with  this  unnecessary  glamour  of  conceal- 
ment, revive  the  habit  of  evening  home  parties 
with  varied  games,  suffer  cards  to  come  with 
other  games,  but  not  to  supplant  all  other  games, 
and  educate  the  country  community  to  a  whole- 

[38] 


THE  WORK  OF  MEN  FOR  BOYS 

some  intellectual  and  social  life  that  shall   cause 
cards  to  cease  to  exist  as  a  moral  problem. 

The  dance,  after  all  is  said,  is  objected  to  by 
those  who  write  books  against  it,  because  of  the 
physical  contact  of  the  sexes  that  is  involved. 
Frankly,  one  may  ask  if  the  objectors  suppose 
that  they  discourage  such  contact  by  its  pro- 
hibition, or  that  the  substitutions  that  arise, 
in  the  way  of  kissing  games,  house  parties,  and 
private  acquaintance,  are  less  objectionable.  The 
dance  is  probably  the  most  skilful  way  of  turning 
this  instinct  for  physical  contact  toward  whole- 
someness  that  could  be  invented.  Its  conven- 
tionalisms and  gallantries  are  themselves  a  barrier 
against  impure  thoughts  and  its  publicity  is  in 
itself  protective.  Children  should  be  taught  to 
dance  before  the  sex-instinct  becomes  conscious, 
as  an  exercise  of  grace  and  joy  in  motion.  The 
homes,  of  course,  ought  to  guard  the  character 
of  the  places  and  occasions  where  dancing  is  held, 
the  company  that  gathers,  the  costumes  that 
are  worn,  but  if  it  does  not  do  so,  the  church  ought 
to  be  vigilant,  chiefly  as  to  two  matters — the 
character  of  the  dancing  schools  and  of  the  dancing 
parties  attended  by  its  young  people.  It  is  con- 
ceivable that,  in  default  of  any  other  possible 
course,  as  a  few  country  churches  have  already 
done,  a  church  might  take  these  two  institutions 
into  its  own  charge.  The  writer  has  in  mind  a 
hill  town  in  New  Hampshire  where  one-third  of 
the  births  in  a  given  year  were  illegitimate,  and 
where  the  loose  morals  of  the  young  people  were 
distinctly  attributable  to  the  unchaperoned  dan- 
cing parties  held  every  winter,  tabooed  and 
fulminated    against    by    the    local    church.      He 

[39] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH   BOYS 

knows  of  a  town  in  Massachusetts  where  similar 
conditions  were  impending,  but  where  the  local 
church  met  the  issue  by  engaging  a  dancing  master 
and  opening  its  school  rooms  to  dancing  classes. 
This  has  gone  on  now  for  many  years.  Dances 
in  that  village  begin  at  eight  in  the  evening  and 
close  at  midnight  and  are  attended  by  young  and 
old  together.  The  morality  of  the  town  is  notably 
high.  Which  was  the  wiser  and  more  practical 
attitude.'' 

There  are  many  finer  ways  to  spend  the  time 
than  in  dancing;  a  vigorous  and  varied  social  life 
in  the  local  church  may  make  the  action  outlined 
above  unnecessary.  The  writer  acknowledges 
also  the  possible  risks  of  exposure  to  draughts, 
danger  to  health  by  excessive  indulgence,  danger 
to  morals  by  immodest  dress,  but  he  regards 
these  as  incidental  and  unnecessary,  and  believes 
that  there  are  strong  psychological  reasons  for 
holding  that,  under  wise  restrictions,  dancing 
may  be  made  a  relief  to  sexual  stress  rather  than 
a  means  of  its  excitement.  He  would  urge,  with 
President  G.  Stanley  Hall,  the  earnest  revival  of 
folk  and  figure  dancing  and  of  the  festival,  in  which, 
as  anciently,  dance  and  song  and  the  dramatic 
portrayal  of  heroes  together  express  broadly  and 
beautifully  the  social  feelings  of  the  populace. 

The  theater  today  is  manifesting  great  power 
both  to  bless  and  to  curse  humanity.  The  Ameri- 
can stage,  commercialized,  disgusts  its  friends  as 
often  as  it  does  its  enemies.  The  men  of  the 
church  can  censor  the  plays  that  come  to  their 
cities,  so  far  as  to  keep  that  which  is  obscene 
and  disgusting  away,  but  the  insidiousness  of 
fashionable     plays     and     of     luxurious     musical 

[40] 


THE  WORK  OF  MEN   FOR   BOYS 

comedies  performed  in  our  most  exclusive  play- 
houses may  be  even  more  pernicious,  just 
as  the  morality  of  the  popular  illustrated  novel 
is  often  more  dubious  than  that  of  the  nickel 
library.  Pastors  and  leaders  of  boys  may  work 
for  a  sane  and  sensitive  dramatic  criticism  in  the 
local  press  which  shall  not  be  hesitant  in  setting 
the  danger  signals  by  which  parents  may  be 
forewarned  of  pernicious  coming  attractions. 
The  pulpit  and  the  boys'  club  ought  to  emphasize 
the  sin  of  causing  the  springs  of  imagination  to 
be  defiled.  But  all  this  is  merely  negative. 
In  some  churches  it  may  be  advisable,  with  cau- 
tion, to  call  attention  to  plays  whose  moral  worth 
and  inspiration  are  unmistakable.  The  moving 
picture  show  is  in  the  main  wholesome,  and  the 
influence  of  this  inexpensive  amusement  is 
enormous,  because  it  is  becoming  universal.  It 
deserves  a  better  setting  than  the  dirty,  unven- 
tilated  halls  where  it  usually  exhibits.  A  whole- 
some religious  and  social  life  in  the  local  church 
is  no  mean  antidote  both  to  the  spirit  of  sen- 
sationalism and  of  melodrama.  The  man  who 
left  a  city  church  one  Sunday  evening,  after  the 
pastor  had  tramped  up  and  down  the  platform, 
contorted  his  face  and  his  body,  and  spent  the 
evening  in  firing  off  rhetorical  pyrotechnics,  and 
who  exclaimed  merrily,  "This  is  the  best  show 
in  town  tonight,"  would  be  more  apt  to  be  found 
in  a  playhouse  the  next  evening  than  in  the  prayer- 
meeting.  Some  churches  have  broken  up  the 
habit  among  their  boys  of  attending  the  cheap 
shows  Saturday  evenings  by  making  that  the 
great  basketball  night  of  the  week.  Others  have 
found   that   the   development   and   utilization   of 

[41] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH   BOYS 

the  neglected  dramatic  instinct  among  boys  by 
giving  plays  and  entertainments  has  led  them  to 
prefer  action  to  being  acted  upon  or  has  given  them 
a  taste  for  the  best  in  dramatic  art.  The  theater 
as  an  institution  would  probably  be  more  power- 
fully effective  for  good  in  a  given  community 
by  an  organization  of  a  respectable  body  of  men 
who  would  patronize  no  play  in  which  the  situa- 
tion or  the  language  was  not  suitable  for  discus- 
sion with  women  than  in  any  other  way. 

These  remarks,  brief  as  they  are,  can  only  be 
suggestive.  Experiments  in  this  direction  have 
satisfied  those  who  have  been  pioneers  that  the 
church  that  would  live  for  its  own  day,  really 
take  care  of  the  young  people  who  live  in  our 
opulent  age  in  modern  homes  and  conditions, 
and  give  them  guidance  toward  righteousness, 
will  move  along  some  such  lines  as  these.  The 
problem  cannot  wisely  be  ignored  or  shirked, 
neither  can  it  be  temporized  with.  It  is  not  an 
easy  thing,  but  it  is  the  only  eventually  possible 
thing.  We  must  rescue  the  amusements  of  our 
young  for  their  good  and  service! 

Often  these  amusements  are  not  the  real  dangers 
at  all.  Where  are  our  school  boys  and  girls  after 
dark.'*  What  goes  on  at  unchaperoned  evening 
parties.''  What  is  the  program  of  the  local  high 
school  "frat"  or  sorority.?  Each  generation  de- 
velops new  temptations  and  dangers  for  the  young. 
No  church  discipline  could  forecast  today's  perils, 
and  often  its  restrictions  are  simply  a  dead  hand 
laid  on  a  dead  issue,  while  new  and  unwritten  ones 
demand  strict  moral  vigilance  and  activity. 

A  danger  greater  than  that  of  amusements 
is   one   that   is   fundamental,    the   possession   or 

[42I 


THE  WORK  OF  MEN  FOR  BOYS 

the  envy  of  great  riches.  We  have  boys  in  our 
public  high  schools  who  walk  to  school  who  are 
mates  of  other  boys  who  ride  to  school  in  four 
thousand  dollar  limousines.  There  is  a  problem 
of  the  boy  who  walks,  to  keep  him  calm  and 
content,  to  nurture  him  in  the  real  values,  to 
prevent  him  from  spending  what  he  does  not  have. 
There  is  also  a  more  difficult  problem  in  the  boy 
who  has  the  automobile,  in  keeping  him  from 
being  a  snob  or  a  reveler,  in  sobering  him  to  his 
responsibilities,  and  in  teaching  him  the  life  of 
service. 

These  suggestions  illustrate  the  possible  pro- 
tective work  of  the  Brotherhood.  Many  a  group 
of  men  that  has  been  in  the  habit  of  discussing 
social  evils  in  a  dilettante  way  Sunday  noons 
would  be  stung  to  action  if  the  fathers  present 
had  put  up  to  them  the  appeal  to  do  something 
to  save  their  own  sons. 

Here  is  a  field  for  vital  discussion  and  real 
work. 

Sixth  :  By  Encouraging  Helpful  Forces 

It  would  be  easy  to  indulge  in  commonplaces 
about  sustaining  the  local  Y.  M.C.  A.  and  juvenile 
court  and  farm  school,  and  taking  more  interest 
in  the  public  schools.  Better  will  it  be  for  the 
local  Brotherhood  to  confine  its  interest  for  one 
year  to  one  practical  issue.  Probably  the  livest 
thing  in  education  just  now  is  the  agitation  for 
better  vocational  education  for  our  boys.  The 
word  vocational  is  better  here  than  the  word 
industrial,  which  is  often  used,  because  it  is  broader. 
What  is  meant  is  the  endeavor  to  find  ways  to 

[43] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH   BOYS 

help  the  public  schools  more  directly  to  assist 
the  boy  to  find  his  calling  and  to  get  ready  for 
it.  It  is  an  appeal  that  interests  the  professional 
men  as  much  as  those  of  the  industrial  classes. 
For,  after  all,  the  first  thing  we  have  to  do  in  life 
is  to  get  a  living,  and  to  show  us  how  to  do  this 
is  what  school  is  for.  But  our  schools  are  not 
doing  it. 

The  writer  was  criticised  for  remarking  recently 
that  too  many  church  men's  classes  engage  in 
a  discussion  of  social  problems  "with  the  scientific 
accuracy  of  Ralph  Connor  and  the  vague  benevo- 
lence of  Lydia  Pinkham."  The  remark  was  not 
intended  to  be  flippant.  The  writer  measures 
greatly  the  new  social  enthusiasm  that  has  come 
into  the  hearts  of  the  men  of  the  churches,  but 
he  believes  that  there  is  often  apparent  more 
zeal  than  discretion.  Many  men's  classes  discuss 
social  questions  in  an  amateur  way  that  shows 
that  they  are  not  familiar  with  the  simplest 
text-books  of  sociology.  Alliances  of  denomina- 
tions with  working  men,  expressed  by  honorary 
memberships  of  ministers  in  trades  unions  and 
vice  versa,  alliances  which  are  gracious  in  peace, 
but  which  are  forgotten  during  days  of  industrial 
warfare,  have  some  value,  but  they  too  often 
expose  the  church  to  the  suspicion  of  being  inter- 
ested in  the  workman  as  a  prospective  church 
member  rather  than  as  a  man  and  a  brother. 
Without  discounting  the  value  of  these  social 
experiments  on  the  part  of  the  church  or  of  any 
other  eff"ort  to  deal  directly  with  the  industrial 
ranks,  the  writer  is  persuaded  that  just  here  and 
now  the  professional  man  in  the  church  and  the 
working  man  who  is  too  often  outside  the  church 

l44] 


THE  WORK  OF  MEN  FOR  BOYS 

may  find  their  long-sought  common  bond  of 
interest  upon  the  field  of  the  schools,  which  they 
both  support,  in  seeking,  through  education  and 
the  cooperation  of  the  professions  and  the  manu- 
factories, for  a  vocational  education  for  their 
sons.  Here  the  classes  will  cross  and  coalesce 
in  the  men  of  tomorrow. 

WHAT  OTHERS  SAY 

"The  school  that  will  hold  its  boys  at  sixteen  will 
do  so  by  beginning  to  hold  them  at  twelve." 

—  Eugene  C.  Foster. 

"If  your  Brotherhood  does  not  assume  the  responsi- 
bility for  the  boyhood  of  your  church,  who  will?" 

—  Frank  Dyer. 

"This  being  the  sort  of  a  person  to  be  with  children 
is  a  very  great  secret." 

—  Marie  Hofer. 


HINTS  FOR  FIRST  HAND  STUDY 

How  is  your  own  church  solving  the  problem  of 
leaders  for  its  boys?  Is  it  providing  for  classes,  now 
taught  by  women,  that  will  be  coming  out  into  the 
main  room  in  a  year  or  two,  needing  men  teachers? 
Just  how  can  that  need  be  anticipated? 

Would  or  would  not  a  better  type  of  man  come 
forward  for  service  in  response  to  better  methods  and 
the  chance  of  a  finer  type  of  work? 

What  is  the  proportion  between  the  money  annually 
spent  in  your  church  for  music  and  that  spent  for  the 
religious  education  of  its  boys  and  girls? 

How,  in  your  own  church,  could  the  modest  sum 
needed  for  boys'  work  best  be  provided? 

How,  in  detail,  would  it  best  be  spent? 

[45] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 


OUTLINE  FOR  STUDY  OF  THE  TOPIC 

What  the  Sunday-school  Can  Do,  and  What  It  Must  Not 
Be   Expected   to  Do. 

A  Critique  of  the  Text-book  Now  Used  in  a  Boys'  Class  in  our 
School. 

Biblical  Courses  that  We  Need. 

Non-Biblical  Courses  that  We  Need. 

Gathering  up  the  Results  of  the  Sunday-school. 

What  More  Can  We  Do  for  Our  Older  Boys.? 


SUGGESTIONS   FOR   FURTHER  READING 
UPON  THIS  TOPIC 

Lilburn  Merrill,  Winning  the  Boy.  New  York:  Fleming  H. 
Revell  Co. 

Eugene  C.  Foster,  The  Boy  and  the  Church.  Philadelphia,  Sunday- 
School  Times  Co. 

A  list  of  books  upon  the  social  problems  of  boyhood 'for  men's 
discussion  classes  is  given  at  the  end  of  the  book. 


46 


V 

HOW  TO  TEACH  A  BOYS'  SUNDAY- 
SCHOOL  CLASS 

Not  very  many  particular  lessons  that  are  taught 
in  Sunday-school  are  likely  to  be  remembered  by 
a  boy.  This  does  not  mean  that  a  school  is 
absolved  from  teaching  a  lesson  well,  or  that  a 
teacher  is  to  be  simply  an  amiable  care-taker 
of  a  joyful  Sunday  mob,  or  that  what  is  called  the 
"influence  of  the  school,"  in  a  vague  and  hazy 
sense,  is  going  to  make  up  to  a  boy  for  the  lack 
of  a  religious  education.  Some  lessons,  by  a 
curious  pertinacity,  do  stick  always,  probably 
because  they  answer  questions  that  the  boy 
happens  to  be  asking.  And  the  best  teacher  is 
one  who  finds  out  the  questions  the  boy  is  asking, 
whether  he  knows  those  in  the  quarterly  or  not. 

The  functions  .of  the  school  are  really  two: 
to  be  a  religious  matrix  and  to  be  a  laboratory  of 
religions.  By  the  best  selected  material,  the 
best  methods  of  instruction  and  the  best  teachers, 
the  school,  especially  during  the  habit-making 
years,  will  give  the  boy  not  so  much  a  system 
of  facts  as  a  system  of  life,  imbue  him  with 
the  Christian  way  of  looking  at  things  and  the 
Christian  way  of  doing  things.  Then  the  school 
will,  especially  in  the  adolescent  years,  become  a 
laboratory.     It  will  show  him  how  goodness  looks 

[47] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

when  it  is  lived,  in  the  school  officers  and  teachers, 
and  it  will  give  him  an  opportunity  to  labor  at 
goodness  in  the  school  activities  and  benevolences 
and  through  the  school's  weekday  institute,  the 
boys'  club. 

A  few  words  may  be  helpful  about  the  practical 
details  of  conducting  a  Sunday-school  class  of  boys. 

In  the  first  place,  seclusion  is  absolutely  neces- 
sary. It  is  best  secured  by  means  of  a  separate 
room,  and  surely  the  boys  of  a  church  deserve 
and  would  appreciate  such  a  privilege  more  than 
any  other  class  in  the  school.  If  this  is  imprac- 
ticable, privacy  may  be  obtained  by  means  of 
inexpensive  curtains,  hung  on  wire,  or  by  portable 
Japanese  screens.  At  the  very  worst,  the  boys' 
class  can  be  placed  in  a  corner,  their  seats  being 
arranged  to  face  the  corner. 

The  writer  has  found  that  class  decorum  and 
the  teaching  of  the  lesson  are  immensely  improved 
by  some  simple  class  organization.  Let  there 
be  a  class  president,  who  calls  the  class  to  order, 
conducts  brief  exercises  of  business,  and  then 
introduces  the  teacher.  Let  the  secretary  and 
treasurer  sit  near  the  exit,  so  that  they  may  pass 
out  the  collection  and  records  to  the  school  secre- 
tary without  requiring  his  entrance.  Let  the 
announcements  of  club  meetings  and  other  good 
times,  and  the  briefest  discussion  of  future  plans, 
be  done  before  the  lesson.  All  these,  carried  on 
within  a  time  limit,  will  prepare  the  class  good- 
naturedly  to  give  the  teacher  their  undivided 
attention.  These  extraneous  matters  are  of  great 
social  importance,  and  if  the  teacher  honors  them 
with  his  attention,  the  boys  will  be  willing  to 
honor  him  with  theirs. 

[48] 


HOW  TO  TEACH  A  BOYS'  CLASS 

The  class  should  be  seated  in  a  circle.  This 
is  to  be  done,  not  simply  for  its  symbolism,  but 
also  for  its  practical  effect,  H  the  class  is  small 
it  should  be  seated  about  a  table.  Boys  who  put 
their  elbows  together  on  a  table  feel  a  sense  of 
fellowship,  such  as  does  not  come  when  they  are 
separated  from  one  another,  and  a  table  is  abso- 
lutely necessary  if  any  manual  work  is  to  be  done. 
In  a  class  where  handwork  is  performed,  or  if 
other  visual  methods  are  used,  it  is  better  for  the 
teacher  to  stand.  In  a  class  where  didactic  or 
debating  methods  are  used,  he  would  better  be 
seated. 

The  central  question  which  the  teacher  has  to 
ask,  as  he  completes  his  preparation  of  the  lesson, 
is  this:  "Is  it  worth  while .f"'  The  whole  endeavor 
of  the  teacher  is  to  produce  real  interest.  The 
common  feeling  which  boys  have  is  that  they 
go  to  Sunday-school,  not  because  what  they  are 
to  study  is  of  inherent  interest  or  value,  but 
simply  because  they  are  sent.  Every  real  Sunday- 
school  teacher  will  wish  to  teach  a  lesson  that  is 
worth  teaching.  If  he  finds  that  the  subject 
matter  assigned  him  in  his  text-book  does  not 
present  a  point  which  seems  to  him  worth  pre- 
senting to  that  class,  let  him  completely  discard 
the  subject  and  choose  another.  If  a  teacher 
can  appear  in  a  class  every  Sunday  with  a  topic 
which  seems  to  him  of  value,  he  is  going  to  be 
pretty  sure  of  being  able  to  make  his  class  also 
believe  in  its  value.  There  is  an  old  distinction 
in  architecture  and  in  literature,  between  con- 
structing adornment  and  adorning  construction. 
No  real  teacher  is  willing  simply  to  construct 
adornment,  —  that   is,  to   illustrate  a  lesson  that 

[49] 


i 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

is  not  worth  illustrating.  True  teaching  is  the 
adorning  of  construction,  —  that  is,  the  making 
rich  and  beautiful  that  which  is  already  worth 
while. 

In  teaching  boys  there  are,  roughly  speaking, 
three  possible  methods,  —  the  manual  method, 
the  biographical  method,  and  the  debating  method. 
The  manual  methods  that  are  possible  in  a  Sunday- 
school  class  are  of  considerable  variety.  There 
are  text-books  like  Gates'  "Life  of  Christ,"  which 
suggest  the  filling  in  with  pencil  of  blanks,  in 
answer  to  questions.  There  is  the  process  of 
constructing  a  junior  Bible,  utilized  in  the  new 
Blakeslee  lessons.  There  is  map  making,  executed 
with  pencil,  crayon,  or  the  use  of  paper  pulp  or 
plasticine.  There  is  also  the  illuminating  and 
adorning  of  text-books,  and  the  making  of  curios 
and  small  illustrative  Oriental  articles.  In  all 
this  work  it  is  important  for  the  teacher  to  dis- 
criminate between  methods  that  actually  make 
the  lesson  plainer,  and  those  which  are  merely 
attractive  or  distracting.  Elaborate  handwork 
is  better  done  at  home  by  individuals,  as  an 
elective.  The  plan  of  creating  a  class  or  school 
museum  will  often  secure  the  cooperative  manu- 
facture of  a  number  of  attractive  articles,  which 
will  be  useful  in  several  classes.  The  simpler 
method  of  writing  answers  to  questions  is  probably 
the  most  reliable  and  educative  of  all  these  hand 
methods  as  the  basis  of  work,  although  the  live 
teacher  will  avoid  monotony  even  in  this,  and 
will  not  depend  upon  the  bare  material  furnished 
in  any  text-book.  The  writer  firmly  believes 
that  the  work  in  these  new  manual  method  text- 
books is  better  performed  in  the  class   than   at 

[so] 


HOW  TO  TEACH  A  BOYS'  CLASS 

home.  The  class  thus  comes  to  the  lesson  with 
a  freshness  of  interest,  each  is  helped  by  the 
suggestions  of  others,  and  the  method  really 
turns  out  to  be  a  laboratory  in  the  class.  The 
trouble  with  preparing  lessons  at  home  is  that 
the  industrious  boy  has  his  work  done  before 
he  arrives,  and  so  has  nothing  to  occupy  him  but 
mischief  while  the  others  are  doing  their  work. 
There  is  also  danger  that  these  handbooks,  which 
are  more  expensive  than  the  old-fashioned  ones, 
will  be  lost  or  mislaid  if  they  are  taken  home. 

It  helps  immensely,  especially  in  the  years 
between  eleven  and  thirteen,  if  an  exhibit  of 
school  work  is  announced  in  connection  with  the 
week  of  Children's  Day.  It  has  been  the  writer's 
custom  to  call  together  the  boys  and  girls  of  the 
younger  adolescent  years  three  or  four  times 
in  the  early  spring,  and  show  them  how  to  color 
the  pictures  in  their  text-books  with  water  colors, 
and  to  designing  covers  with  an  elaborate  amount 
of  red  and  gold  paint.  This  tends  to  give  the 
children  pride  in  completing  their  work  as  well 
as  possible,  and  in  cherishing  it  after  it  is  finished. 
The  awarding  of  gold  and  silver  seals  for  work 
of  the  best  quality,  at  the  time  of  the  exhibit, 
is  also  helpful. 

The  biographical  method  involves  a  certain 
amount  of  research  on  the  part  of  the  pupil,  and 
here  the  methods  of  teaching  are  similar  to  those 
of  teaching  history  in  the  public  schools.  We 
shall  soon  have  available  some  helpful  text- 
books of  other  than  Biblical  characters.  One 
of  these,  which  has  already  appeared,  compares 
characters  in  the  Bible  with  similar  ones  in  later 
history.     This  method  is  bound  to  be  interesting 

[SI] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

and  inspiring.  The  Bible  is  chiefly  a  book  of 
biographies,  and  it  is  the  biography  in  it  that  is 
the  chief  object  of  interest  among  children  until 
the  later  adolescent  years.  The  trouble  with 
most  such  text-books  is  that  a  great  life  is  divided 
into  a  number  of  small  sections,  and  is  subjected 
to  tiresome  homiletic  discussions  which  retard 
the  current  of  the  heroic  story.  The  wise  teacher 
of  boys,  realizing  that  they  like  to  deal  with  a 
great  life  in  a  mass,  will  teach  the  entire  life  of 
David  in  two  lessons,  instead  of  ten;  will  cover 
the  story  of  Jesus  in  a  quarter,  rather  than  a  year; 
and  will  dispose  of  the  minor  characters,  each  in 
one  lesson.  The  moral  message  of  a  life  is  much 
more  effective  by  this  method  of  teaching. 

The  only  didactic  method  of  teaching  boys 
that  seems  possible  is  that  of  debating,  and  the 
only  time  when  this  is  applicable  is  in  the  later 
high  school  years.  The  writer  has  watched,  with 
great  interest,  the  successive  steps  by  which  a 
fine  young  college  man  has  taken  a  group  of  such 
boys,  who  have  been  accustomed  to  listening  with- 
out enthusiasm  to  sermonettes  from  their  teacher, 
and  inspired  them  to  get  on  their  feet  and  discuss 
hotly  with  each  other  and  with  their  leader. 
Instead  of  being  the  central  figure  in  the  class, 
he  now  sits  quietly  at  one  side,  rather  as  an  umpire 
of  the  discussion  than  as  its  leader.  The  result 
is  that  the  class  seems  to  go  on  almost  as  well 
when  he  is  absent  as  when  he  is  present.  The 
writer  is  certain  that  the  tendency  of  most  classes 
to  hear  a  series  of  lectures  by  prominent  poli- 
ticians and  religious  leaders  is  entirely  in  the 
wrong  direction.  The  historic  method  of  the 
debate,    which    Socrates    fostered,    which    Jesus 

[52] 


HOW  TO  TEACH  A  BOYS'  CLASS 

encouraged,  and  which  Is  the  very  heart  of  the 
New  England  town  meeting  and  of  popular 
government  everywhere,  Is  the  priceless  method 
of  arriving  at  moral  decisions  among  young  men 
who  are  upon  the  verge  of  their  careers  and  life 
missions. 

Behind  the  matter  of  method  and  device  and 
the  graded  curriculum  and  even  the  Scripture 
that  Is  studied  should  loom  up  constantly  to  the 
teacher  of  boys  the  greater  question.  What  am 
I  really  trying  to  teach?  It  is  no  mere  trick 
of  words  to  answer,  We  are  teaching,  not  lessons, 
but  men.  To  put  It  more  definitely,  the  real  ques- 
tion is.  How  ought  we  to  teach  to  affect  the  con- 
duct and  relations  of  these  boys  this  week,  next 
year,  and  always.''  To  the  teacher  who  feels 
that  he  Is  getting  lost  in  his  details  or  devices  or 
growing  stale  because  of  use,  let  such  questions 
as  these  constantly  appear:  How  can  I  make 
these  boys  this  week  more  respectful  to  their 
mothers.''  How  may  I  help  them  to  be  more 
useful  in  their  homes.''  How  can  I  get  out  of 
their  minds  this  horseshow  attitude  toward  life? 
How  can  I  uplift  their  thought  of  the  nobler 
uses  of  money?  How  can  I  make  them  face 
soberly  the  industrial  order?  How  can  I 
persuade  them  to  get  ready  for  life?  What 
can  I  say  which  shall  begin  to  make  them 
of  public  service?  Such  considerations  glorify 
teaching  and  will  often  enable  a  teacher  to  utilize 
or  rise  superior  to  Inadequate  materials  and  un- 
comfortable environments.  Everything  else  is 
his  Instruments,  but  these  are  the  things  that 
spell  life.  And  more  and  more  he  will  realize 
that  these  are  truths  that  cannot  be  told,  they 

[53] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

must  be  lived,  they  must  be  arrived  at  through 
discussion  and  moral  and  mental  struggle.  This 
will  make  him  less  a  preacher  and  more  an  inciter 
of  debate,  a  promulgator  of  dissatisfaction,  a 
comrade  and  a  friend. 

Methods  of  gathering  up  and  conserving  the 
fruits  of  religious  education  are  of  import  to  us 
all.  The  writer  does  not  object  to  Decision 
Day,  if  those  who  lead  in  observing  it  realize 
what  a  tremendously  serious  work  they  are 
engaging  in.  There  is  no  greater  responsibility 
on  earth  than  for  one  person  to  undertake  to 
focalize  and  determine  the  life  choices  of  another. 
Such  work  ought  not  to  be  carelessly  undertaken 
by  anyone.  The  day  is  properly  chiefly  a  census 
day  or  a  day  of  quiet  committal  or  witness,  con- 
fined to  the  adolescent  years.  The  writer's 
own  experience  is  that  the  results,  no  matter  how 
carefully  guarded,  are  distinctly  "gang"  decisions, 
by  classes  and  social  groups.  The  actuality  of 
what  Is  obtained  by  the  cards  signed  Is  somewhat 
puzzling  to  discover.  Probably  some  weaker 
spirits  are  encouraged  by  the  example  of  the 
stronger  ones  to  come  out  on  the  side  of  right,  a 
decision  which  life  and  experience  will  make 
real  and  effective  later.  Care  ought  to  be  taken 
that  those  who  are  not  ready  to  take  the  step 
and  those  who  object  to  "being  converted  in 
rows"  are  not  discouraged  or  alienated.  Decision 
Day  should  In  no  case  be  made  a  lazy  substitute 
for  personal  work  by  teachers  with  the  scholars. 
At  Its  best  It  Is  a  manifestation  of  group  witness 
and  the  utilizing  of  the  group  spirit  for  the  benefit 
of  the  hesitant  and  timid. 

The  writer  finds  that  he  has  increasingly  made 

lS4] 


HOW  TO  TEACH  A  BOYS'   CLASS 

it  a  habit  to  bring  boys  into  a  conscious  religious 
experience  in  connection  with  the  church  Hfe  by- 
working  through  their  parents.  Is  not  this  the 
divinely  intended  way  by  which  a  boy  should  be 
made  conscious  that  he  is  a  Christian?  Indeed, 
has  an  outsider  the  right  to  approach  a  boy  about 
so  sacred  a  matter,  unless  in  very  exceptional 
circumstances,  without  the  permission  and  if 
possible  the  cooperation  of  the  home?  It  has 
been  his  constant  joy  to  have  boys  presented  to 
the  church  by  their  fathers  and  mothers,  often 
without  any  previous  interview  by  himself  with 
the  boys  at  all;  these  parents  have  been  invited 
into  the  counsels  when  the  officers  of  the  church 
met  with  these  lads;  they  have  sat  beside  them  at 
their  first  communion,  and  thus  in  every  way 
family  religion  was  honored  and  the  old  Scriptural 
idea  was  maintained  that  the  religion  of  a  boy 
is  a  covenant  and  a  family  blessing.  The  pastor 
is  often  guided  by  the  observation  of  the  parents 
as  to  the  maturity  and  sincerity  of  their  children, 
and  while  sometimes,  with  much  caution,  he  needs 
to  disabuse  their  minds  of  unreasonable  expecta- 
tions regarding  their  children,  on  the  other  hand 
he  needs  their  loving  alertness  to  help  him  help 
them  in  the  further  stages  of  their  religious 
development. 

By  work  with  parents  and  by  a  watchful 
observation  of  the  "gang"  influences  which  were 
likely  to  work  among  definite  groups  of  boys, 
the  writer  has  not  recently  found  the  Decision 
Day  plan  necessary.  He  has,  however,  utilized 
a  strong  point  of  the  Decision  Day  plan,  namely, 
the  statistical  study  of  the  school,  by  keeping 
before  him  lists  of  boys  emerging  into  adolescence, 

[55] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

with  careful  notations  of  their  home  influences, 
club  relations,  church  activities,  etc.,  and  making 
these  lists  the  subject  of  frequent  conference  with 
their  teachers. 

One  embarrassing  result  of  Decision  Day,  with 
its  implication  of  joining  the  church,  in  the 
average  Sunday-school  of  today,  is  that  a  number 
of  young  people  are  apt  to  become  church  members 
who  have  actually  never  formed  the  habit  of  church 
attendance,  and  as  there  is  nothing  magical  in 
mere  membership  to  create  this  habit,  one  wonders 
if  a  reversal  of  order  of  methods  is  not  indicated. 
Ought  we  not  to  get  children  to  come  to  church, 
and  then  ask  them  for  committal  and  member- 
ship,'' Will  not  this  plan  produce  a  finer  type  of 
church  members?  The  writer  has  found  that 
an  earnest  presentation  of  church-going  to  the 
scholars  of  ten  and  over  and  their  parents  and 
teachers,  with  a  quarterly  enrolment  card,  presen- 
tation of  small  sermon  note-books,  and  some 
simple  recognition  of  the  younger  ones,  has  soon 
brought  a  large  number  of  boys  and  girls  to  church. 
He  has  followed  up  this  attendance  by  explaining 
carefully  to  them  the  reasons  for  the  various  parts 
of  the  service,  he  has  occasionally  given  them  a 
talk  or  asked  them  to  sing,  but  he  has  found  that ' 
a  monthly  young  people's  sermon  was  rather 
better  than  a  sermonette,  and  that  It  was,  even 
with  the  adults,  the  most  popular  sermon  of 
the  month!  Indeed,  the  whole  service  tends  to 
become  brighter  and  more  real  if  pastor  and 
people  are  conscious  that  they  have  with  them 
the  young  people  as  guests  of  God.  True  It  Is 
that,  "Those  that  be  planted  in  the  house  of  the 
Lord  shall  flourish  in  the  courts  of  our  God." 

[56] 


HOW  TO  TEACH  A  BOYS'  CLASS 

Church-going  young  people  are  almost  certain  to 
become  church  members. 

The  matter  of  definite  preparation  for  church 
membership  is  one  worthy  of  careful  study.  In 
the  liturgical  churches  confirmation  is  a  regular 
stage  in  the  system  of  religious  education.  In 
other  churches  it  is  the  writer's  observation  that  it 
is  usually  a  matter  of  "gang"  action,  stimulated 
either  by  outside  or  inside  influence.  Just  what 
value  definite  catechetical  instruction  has  in 
helping  to  develop  the  religious  nature  of  a  boy 
is  problematical.  Boys  are  certainly  not  so  well 
adapted  for  catechisms  as  girls  are.  A  commun- 
ion class,  conducted  with  informality  and  reality, 
no  doubt  impresses  the  young  with  the  seriousness 
of  the  step  they  are  taking  and  perhaps  leaves 
some  deposit  of  information.  It  is  probable 
that  no  answers  are  effective  in  religious  educa- 
tion that  do  not  answer  questions  the  boys  and 
girls  are  actually  asking.  Those  who  write  cate- 
chisms and  who  conduct  classes  will  probably 
be  successful  in  proportion  as  they  bear  this  fact 
in  mind.  In  supplement  to  this  method,  the 
writer  has  believed  that  it  was  helpful  to  take 
up  in  order  briefly  at  the  morning  service  the 
same  sort  of  topics  which  he  would  naturally  deal 
with  in  such  a  class.  The  fact,  mentioned  above, 
that  it  is  church-attending  children  who  are  most 
likely  to  make  good  church  members,  suggested 
that  this  would  be  a  good  time  for  them  to  hear 
these  things,  and  the  fact  that  their  parents  heard 
the  talks  too  made  it  seem  probable  that  they 
would  be  talked  over  familiarly  in  the  home. 

One  who  has  followed  the  standpoints  of  this 
book  carefully  will  realize  that  the  author  does 

lS7l 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

not  believe  that  mere  church  membership  is 
the  go^l  of  Sunday-school  or  church  effort.  It  is 
to  be  regarded  as  a  significant  and  influential 
step  of  progress,  but  it  is  the  days  that  follow 
that  are  the  most  neglected  and  important  ones 
in  the  life  of  a  boy.  Then  it  is  that,  if  he  is  allowed 
to  suppose  he  has  reached  his  haven  when  he  has 
merely  set  his  sails,  or  that  he  has  done  his  work 
when  he  has  work  yet  to  do,  he  starts  to  become 
a  futile  Christian.  The  quality  of  character 
which  the  church  develops  in  its  boy  members 
will  depend  chiefly  on  the  kind  and  quantity  of 
work  it  gives  them  to  do.  Here  the  church  boys' 
club  becomes  the  supplement  as  it  has  already 
been  the  adjunct  of  the  Sunday-school.  And 
there  is  very  much  church  work  that  cannot 
be  done  in  even  boys'  clubs. 

The  leader  of  boys  must  learn  not  to  expect 
too  little  or  too  much  from  boys.  He  will  be  sur- 
prised to  find  how  accessible,  apparently  how 
fickle,  shallow  or  even  brutal  boys  are  to  tender 
influences.  He  will  also  be  equally  surprised  to 
find  how  distinct  are  the  limitations  of  juvenile 
religious  development.  As  has  been  pointed 
out  elsewhere,  the  boy  is  living  on  the  ethical 
rather  than  the  spiritual  level  until  he  is  pretty 
well  along  in  adolescence.  He  needs  homely 
virtues  more  than  spiritual  graces.  We  are  to 
try  not  to  make  little  men  —  manikins  —  but 
to  produce  the  promise  of  manliness. 

WHAT  OTHERS  SAY 

"One  of  the  best  definitions  of  education  is,  to  teach 
us  to  delight  in  what  we  should." 

—  G.    Stanley   Hall. 

[58] 


HOW  TO  TEACH  A  BOYS'  CLASS 

"Truly  speaking,  it  is  not  instruction  but  provoca- 
tion that  I  can  receive  from  another  soul." 

—  R.  W.  Emerson. 

"The  test  of  the  efficiency  of  the  Sunday-school 
will  be  not,  how  much  of  the  Bible  the  child  has  learned, 
but  what  he  has  become." 

—  George  A.  Coe. 

"It  is  the  moral  function  of  the  school,  not  to  teach 
ethics,  but  to  get  right  things  done." 

—  Nathaniel  Butler. 

"He  will  respond  in  his  own  way  if  you  will  forget 
that  you  are  a  moralist  and  remember  that  he  is  a 
child." 

J.  J.  FiNDLAY. 

"The  higher  education  is  a  finish,  but  the  highest 
education  is  a  start." 

—  The   Country   Contributor. 


HINTS  FOR  FIRST  HAND  STUDY 

Go  into  a  class  that  you  believe  to  be  well  taught. 
(Don't  watch  any  poor  teaching.)  Go  not  once, 
but  twice,  or  as  many  times  as  may  be  necessary,  in 
order  to  see  the  class  as  it  normally  is  and  to  discover 
the  secrets  of  the  teacher's  power.  Try  to  put  down 
on  paper  definitely  the  teacher's  general  purpose  in 
teaching  and  his  special  purpose  for  the  day.  Analyze 
his  methods,  noting  whether  they  are  likely  to  prove 
of  continuous  and  general  value.  Note  the  character 
of  the  response  he  is  winning.  Close  by  noting  down 
things  to  avoid,  and  improvements  of  purpose  and 
method  you  would  make  if  you  were  as  good  a  teacher 
as  he.     Do  this  in  other  classes. 

Send  for  the  complete  material  of  the  text-book  that 
seems  to  you  best  adapted  in  subject,  plan,  and  methods 

[59] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

to  the  boys  you  have  in  mind.  Read,  first,  the  teacher's 
introduction,  then  the  first  lesson  from  the  teacher's 
standpoint,  then  the  same  lesson  from  the  pupils' 
standpoint.  Do  for  preparation  of  the  first  lessons 
exactly  what  he  asks  the  pupil  to  do,  and  decide  whether 
your  class  would  like  or  would  be  able  to  do  what  he 
suggests.  Do  the  same  with  a  lesson  of  three  months 
later  date,  and  ask  yourself  whether  the  suggested 
methods  would  lessen  or  improve  in  value  and  interest. 
Is  the  plan  too  monotonous.'*  Are  the  questions  too 
self-explanatory  or  too  difficult?  Is  the  illustrative 
material  appropriate.''  Would  the  book  be  useful  if 
you  should  add  your  own  wisdom  and  ingenuity  to  it? 
Is  it  the  best  thing  available  on  the  subject?  If  not, 
find  what  is. 


SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  READING 
ON  THIS  TOPIC 

Henry  F.  Cope,  The  Modern  Sunday-school  in  Principle  and 
Practice.  Fleming  H.  Revell  Co.,  New  York  and  Chicago.  Chapters 
on  grading  and  method  of  teaching. 

Milton  S.  Littlefield,  Handwork  in  the  Sunday-school.  The  Sunday- 
school  Times  Co.,  Philadelphia. 

Edward  P.  St.  John,  Stories  and  Story-Telling.  The  Pilgrim  Press, 
Boston  and  Chicago. 

Eugene  C.  Foster,  Starting  to  Teach.  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Press,  New 
York. 

George  H.  Trull,  Missionary  Methods  for  Sunday-school  Workers. 
New  York  Sunday-school  Department  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions. 

A  list  of  recommended  text-books  for  a  graded  curriculum  will  be 
found  in  the  Bibliography  at  the  end  of  the  book. 


60] 


VI 

HOW  TO  CONDUCT  A  CHURCH 
BOYS'  CLUB 

Whatever  the  special  methods  used  in  any- 
church  boys'  club,  there  are  some  ideals  common 
to  all.     These  should  be  stated. 

I.  The  purpose  of  the  club,  as  has  already 
been  said,  is  to  form  character  in  the  boys  by  their 
living  out  a  portion  of  the  moral  life,  helpfully, 
together.  Play  is  not  a  bait  for  work.  The 
game  is  not  an  allurement  toward  religion.  The 
leader  believes  that  play  and  games  are  themselves 
character-making  forces  and  he  uses  them  for 
their  own  sakes  and  not  as  secondary  to  some- 
thing else.     He  believes  in  his  methods. 

n.  The  definite  shaping  of  ideals  in  a  club 
comes  by  the  familiar  mingling  of  boys  with  boys 
and  of  the  boys  with  their  leader.  The  club 
should  not  be  so  large  as  to  be  a  mob,  and  the 
methods  should  not  work  so  much  in  the  mass 
that  the  leader  cannot  know  and  be  known  by 
each  individual.  A  club  in  a  church  generally 
should  begin  small  and  enlarge  gradually.  The 
leader  should  early  ask  himself  if  he  is  getting  to 
know  each  member  well.  If  he  is  not  doing  this, 
he  may  well  leave  out  some  other  things  and  do 
this  first. 

HI.  The  membership  of  the  club  should  be 
[6i] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

of  boys  of  nearly  the  same  age,  and  should  consist 
at  the  start  of  a  single  class  or  of  two  or  more 
similar  classes  in  the  Sunday-school.  The  church 
which  sustains  a  strong  boys'  club,  composed  of 
boys  from  fourteen  up,  will  hold  its  younger 
boys  sufficiently  by  anticipation.  The  first  club 
inaugurated  should  be  of  the  oldest  boys  whom 
the  leaders  can  hold.  The  most  successful  years 
for  organizing  are  probably  from  thirteen  to  four- 
teen, the  culminating  years  of  the  "gang"  period. 

IV.  The  club  should  be  controlled  by  the 
church,  and  should,  at  least  at  first,  be  restricted 
to  boys  of  the  congregation.  It  should  generally 
meet  somewhere  in  the  church  building.  It 
should  be  plain  that  this  work  is  being  done  by, 
through,  and  at  least  partly  for,  the  church. 

V.  The  expenses  of  the  club  should  largely 
be  met  by  the  members,  and  they  should  not 
be  beyond  the  reach  of  any  individual.  The 
club  should  also  meet  the  needs  of  each  member 
by  avoiding  study  hours,  late  hours,  and  too  long 
or  too  frequent  meetings. 

VI.  In  order  to  develop  a  genuine  group 
instinct  and  the  qualities  of  initiative  and  responsi- 
bility, there  should  be  considerable  self-govern- 
ment. But  there  needs  also  to  be  the  background 
of  authority  that  shall  maintain  reasonable 
decorum,  respect  for  church  property,  and  a  con- 
secutive program  of  some  value.  "The  adult 
should  guide  from  the  rear."  No  boy  has  anything 
but  contempt  for  a  club  in  which  he  is  permitted 
to  "rough  house"  or  in  which  he  does  nothing 
but  play. 

VII.  Its  plans  should  be  progressively  educa- 
tive.    To  march  around  a  room  behind  a  drum 

[62] 


HOW  TO  CONDUCT  A  CHURCH  BOYS'  CLUB 

corps  is  an  inspiriting  exercise  to  a  boy  of  eight, 
but  one  would  not  wish  or  expect  to  see  the  same 
boy  enraptured  over  this  same  thing  five  years 
later.  The  club  should  always  be  able  to  keep 
just  a  little  ahead  of  the  boy.  Never  must  he  be 
allowed  to  feel  he  has  outgrown  it.  It  should 
not  shoot  over  his  head,  but  it  should  exercise 
him  in  the  best  way  for  which  he  is  willing  at  any 
given  time.  At  the  close  of  this  chapter  a  scheme 
for  graded  boys'  clubs  is  given,  through  which  a 
group  may  successively  pass. 

VIII.  Contrary  to  the  opinion  of  many, 
the  writer  holds  that  the  best  time  to  organize 
work  with  boys  is  in  the  summer  time.  Base- 
ball, hiking  parties,  camps,  furnish  a  natural 
initial  acquaintance  and  an  esprit  de  corps  which 
are  invaluable  for  a  winter's  work.  Next  to  the 
summer,  that  time  in  the  fall  when  it  begins  to 
get  chilly  at  dusk  is  indicated  as  the  good  time 
to  bring  boys  together.  The  winter  will  pass  so 
rapidly  that  a  club  holding  its  sessions  only  once 
a  week  needs  the  whole  season  to  do  a  good 
winter's  work. 

The  writer  will  now  state,  as  impartially  as 
possible,  the  strong  points  of  the  social  methods 
and  organizations  which  seem  to  him  most  likely 
to  be  useful  with  boys  in  our  churches. 

I.   The  Class  Club. 

The  simplest  social  method  is  for  a  Sunday-school 
class  to  become  a  club.  Such  a  club,  adopting 
the  meagerest  constitution  that  will  hold  a  body 
together,  can  constitute  every  session  of  the  class 
a  club  meeting  and  hold  extra  meetings  outside. 
The  advantage  is  that  it  gives  the  class  a  helpful 

[63] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

self-consciousness  and  enables  its  members  to 
make  entrance  to  the  class  a  coveted  privilege, 
by  arranging  that  outsiders  must  be  elected  and 
not  dumped  into  the  class.  The  writer's  experi- 
ence is  that  such  a  simple  organism  is  a  great 
help  to  decorum  and  attention  in  the  class,  the 
president  calling  the  class  to  order,  and,  after 
announcements  and  business,  introducing  the 
teacher,  the  secretary  and  treasurer  quietly  making 
their  records  and  collections  and  passing  them 
out  to  the  school  secretary  without  disturbing 
the  class.  Out  of  even  so  little  an  organism  as 
this  a  sense  of  class  loyalty  develops,  which  assists 
the  moral  impression  of  the  teaching,  and  through 
it  the  class  performs  its  chosen  benevolences  and 
arranges  its  week  night  and  vacation  fellowships. 
It  is  usually  well  to  affiliate  even  a  modest 
class  club  with  one's  denominational  Brotherhood. 
It  gives  the  class  a  wholesome  self-consciousness 
to  become  related  to  the  great  masculine  move- 
ment of  the  church.  It  helps  the  boys  personally 
to  the  same  fraternity  as  their  fathers.  It  gives 
them  strength  to  feel  that  they  are  joined  by  the 
same  ideals  and  purposes  as  boys  of  their  own 
age  in  other  churches.  Most  of  the  Brotherhoods 
have  a  junior  or  boys'  department  and  furnish 
helpful  suggestions  to  local  clubs.  They  usually 
enroll  such  clubs  without  change  of  name  or 
methods. 

2.   The  Athletic  Club. 

The  interest  of  athletics  is  one  that  will  arouse 
immediate  enthusiasm  among  boys,  and  many 
leaders,  who  have  some  skill  in  this  direction, 
will  find  it  most  easily  usable  with  boys.     The 

[64] 


HOW  TO  CONDUCT  A  CHURCH  BOYS'  CLUB 

mere  skeleton  of  an  organization  is  necessary. 
The  ten-cent  handbooks  of  all  the  principal 
outdoor  and  indoor  games  are  the  authorities  gen- 
erally used. 

3.   The  Boys'  Brigade. 

The  Boys'  Brigade  has  been  tried  out  in  this 
country  for  twenty  years  and  in  England  and 
Scotland,  where  its  prosperity  has  been  greater, 
even  longer.  Although  it  is  not  so  much  talked 
of  as  formerly,  it  still  has  its  strong  place  in  the 
hearts  of  those  who  have  been  successful  in 
maintaining  it.  There  is  the  initial  advantage 
that  the  plan  appeals  immediately  to  nearly 
all  boys,  because  the  glamour  of  the  soldier  is 
upon  them,  and  that  younger  boys  especially  are 
easily  held  by  it,  without  other  attractions.  The 
strongest  feature  of  the  Brigade  is,  undoubtedly, 
the  summer  camp;  which,  though  by  no  means 
unique  with  Brigades,  is  more  conveniently 
run  on  military  lines  than  on  any  other.  It 
is  sometimes  difficult  to  secure  a  drill  master 
who  combines  military  knowledge,  authority  of 
demeanor,  and  character,  but  such  a  man  has, 
in  the  Brigade,  a  plan  well  adapted  to  his  gifts. 
The  expense  is  somewhat  greater  than  in  some 
other  kinds  of  work,  for  uniforms  are  practically 
necessary  for  an  enthusiastic  company,  but  it 
is  considerably  less  than  that  of  equipping  a 
gymnasium,  for  example.  It  is  estimated  at 
two  dollars  a  boy,  for  a  company  of  forty.  The 
gradual  accumulation  of  this  amount,  through 
gifts,  dues,  and  the  purchase  of  each  part  of  the 
uniform  piece  by  piece  is  not  found  difficult. 
The    manual    of    information    costs    twenty-five 

[6sl 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH   BOYS 

cents,  the  necessary  printed  matter  about  a  dollar, 
and  there  are  various  helpful  publications  and 
supplies  available  later. 

4.  The  Boys'  Life  Brigade  and  the  First 

Aid  Association. 

These  two  plans  of  work  are  so  similar  that 
they  may  be  yoked  together.  The  first  is  English 
and  is  the  outgrowth  of  the  Boys'  Brigade,  being 
a  protest  against  the  supposedly  warlike  influences 
of  that  organization.  The  second  is  American 
and  is  a  development  of  the  Red  Cross,  having 
been  devised  by  Miss  Clara  Barton  as  a  means 
of  educating  our  citizenship  in  methods  of  emer- 
gency life-saving.  Each  organization  furnishes 
interesting  and  instructive  drills  for  boys  in 
treating  accident  cases,  rescuing  from  fire  and 
water,  and  first  aid.  The  drills  can  be  conducted 
in  military  uniforms  if  desired,  and  the  plans  are 
useful,  not  only  in  a  special  organization,  but  as 
an  attractive  feature  for  any  boys'  club  or  camp. 
The  only  apparatus  necessary  in  either  organiza- 
tion is  an  inexpensive  handbook. 

5.  The  Woodcraft  Indians  and  Boy  Scouts. 

Again,  two  similar  plans,  one  American  and  the 
other  English,  may  be  placed  side  by  side.  The 
Woodcraft  Indians  is  an  imitation  of  the  nobler 
qualities  of  the  red  men,  devised  by  Ernest  Thomp- 
son Seton,  the  naturalist.  The  Scouts  is  an  out- 
door method  of  reproducing  the  life  of  outdoor 
men,  red  men,  hunters,  and  scouts,  devised  by 
General  Sir  R.  S.  S.  Baden-Powell.  Both  plans 
have  swept  through  the  countries  in  which  they 
originated    and    have    developed   of   late   not   so 

[66] 


HOW  TO  CONDUCT  A  CHURCH  BOYS'  CLUB 

much  Into  distinct  clubs  as  into  the  encourage- 
ment of  the  more  stalwart  and  skilful  elements 
in  the  outdoor  play  and  camping  of  all  sorts  of 
boys'  organizations.  The  methods  are  worked 
out  with  ingenuity  and  are  distinctly  manly  and 
wholesome.  They  have  in  themselves  hardly 
enough  of  winter  time  activity  for  indoor  clubs, 
but  they  are  very  suggestive  to  all  those  who  con- 
duct summer  camps. 

6.  The  Brotherhood  of  David. 

This  is  a  boys'  society,  based  on  the  Bible, 
intended  for  younger  boys,  but  worked  out 
elaborately  by  older  ones.  The  boys  are  a 
"Camp"  of  the  devotees  of  David,  and  meet 
in  a  literal  or  imaginary  "cave,"  as  he  did  when 
an  exile.  Boys  preparing  for  kingliness  through 
hardship,  discipline,  and  manly  exercise  —  this 
is  the  thought  of  the  society.  The  activities 
consist  in  the  handwork  of  making  and  using 
slings,  spears,  and  "Goliath  swords"  in  various 
physical  exercises,  initiations,  which  are  simple 
dramatizations  of  the  David  stories,  and  some 
painless  acquisition  of  knowledge  about  David 
and  his  companions,  outdoor  life  in  the  Holy 
Land,  the  customs  of  various  races  in  the  shepherd 
stage,  and  other  heroes  of  the  David  style.  Each 
boy  assumes  the  name  of  his  favorite  hero.  The 
plan  is  adapted  to  winter  as  well  as  summer.  It 
interlocks  well  with  the  Woodcraft  Indian  scheme. 

7.  Handicraft  and  Nature  Study  Clubs. 

These  two  are  naturally  grouped  together, 
because  one  is  a  winter  and  the  other  a  summer 
employment.     In  Mr.  George  E.  Johnson's  "Play 

[67] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

School,"^  which  was  epoch-making  in  its  influence 
upon  the  playground  movement,  handicraft  and 
nature  study  were  correlated  both  winter  and 
summer.  In  the  rural  regions  the  leader  of  boys 
may  be  enabled  by  some  attention  to  these  subjects 
to  supplement  the  deficiencies  of  the  public  school, 
especially  in  hand-training.  In  the  city,  where 
such  subjects  are  in  the  school  curriculum,  the 
club  leader  will  find  that  the  boys  are  chiefly 
interested,  in  their  handicraft,  in  cooperative 
tasks  in  fitting  up  their  club  rooms,  or  in  forms 
of  bench  work  that  are  larger  and  more  immedi- 
ately serviceable  for  play  or  use  than  the  school 
sloyd.  The  few  books  on  these  subjects,  men- 
tioned at  the  end  of  the  last  chapter,  and  the 
literature  of  vacation  schools  and  playgrounds 
will  be  helpful  to  those  who  use  these  methods. 
Woodworking  and  printing  are  the  two  forms  of 
handwork  that  seem  to  be  most  popular.  Nature 
study  runs  almost  insensibly  into  camping  out. 

8.  Phi  Delta  Pi. 

While  secrecy  is  hardly  safe  in  organizations 
of  immature  lads,  it  may  be  presumed  that  the 
secrets  of  this  fraternity,  devised  by  Mr.  H.  W. 
Gibson  of  the  Massachusetts  Y.  M.  C.  A.  as  an 
antidote  to  the  high  school  fraternity,  for  use  in 
the  church  and  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  are  not  very  porten- 
tous. In  communities  where  this  particular  need 
ought  to  be  met,  this  plan  may  well  be  investigated. 

9.  The  Order  of  the  Knights  of  King  Arthur. 

This   fraternity,    the   largest   for   boys    in   the 
world,  is  a  non-secret  society,  based  on  the  Round 
'Described  in  "The  Boy  Problem,"  pp.  82-86. 

[68] 


HOW  TO  CONDUCT  A  CHURCH  BOYS'  CLUB 

Table  legends  and  intended  for  the  encourage- 
ment of  the  manly  qualities  suggested  by  Chris- 
tian chivalry.  The  boys  take  the  names  of 
knights  or  other  heroes  and  bear  them  in  all 
meetings  of  their  "Castles."  They  are  supposed 
to  personate  there  and  elsewhere  uphold  the 
ideals  of  knightly  fraternity.  Each  boy  is  initi- 
ated, with  much  merriment,  into  the  humble 
degree  of  page.  After  a  season,  when  he  has 
been  instructed  in  the  virtues  of  purity,  temper- 
ance, and  reverence,  and  has  taken  appropriate 
vows,  he  may  become  an  esquire.  After  he  is  a 
church  member  he  is  made  a  knight.  Thus  the 
processes  of  the  "Castle"  lead  consistently 
upward.  The  ideal  set  up  is  one  of  wholesome 
self-respect.  The  members  are  knights;  they  are 
above  meanness  and  low  habits.  They  are  chiv- 
alrous gentlemen.  Religion  is  unobtrusive  but 
integral.  There  are  higher  ranks  still  accessible 
to  unusual  courage  or  strength  of  character.  The 
conclaves  may  take  the  form  of  debates,  athletic 
drills,  study  classes,  games,  and  so  forth.  Here 
the  greatest  flexibility  is  allowed.  There  are  — 
to  meet  the  boys'  fancy  —  insignia,  grips,  pass- 
words, and  secret  signs,  but  no  secrets  are  kept 
from  the  parents  of  the  members.  There  is 
much  opportunity  for  handwork,  athletics,  dra- 
matics, and  music.  The  plan  is  refining,  but 
not  effeminate,  and  seems  to  appeal  to  all  classes 
of  boys.  The  method  is  extremely  elastic  and  the 
plan  has  been  much  enriched  by  the  suggestions 
of  people  from  all  over  the  world  who  have  thought 
of  attractive  modifications  of  it.  In  practise, 
the  organization  is  inexpensive  and  is  easily 
self-supporting. 

I69] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH   BOYS 

The  distinctive  features  of  the  plan  are  most 
successful  with  boys  in  the  early  years  of  high 
school,  but  the  older  boys  who  have  attained 
the  "peerage"  often  become  a  "House  of  Lords," 
with  parliamentary  practise  and  some  oversight 
of  the  younger  boys. 

The  handbook  costs  a  dollar  and  a  complete 
castle  outfit  (which  includes  the  handbook)  three 
dollars. 

lo.   The   Christian  Endeavor   Society. 

The  oldest  and  largest  of  all  the  young  people's 
movements  presents  a  variety  of  plans  suited  to 
several  grades  of  maturity.  This  organization, 
unlike  the  others  mentioned,  makes  its  religious 
meeting  the  central  feature,  yet  it  is  fair  to  say 
that  it  is  only  the  local  societies  that  really 
"endeavor"  that  continue  to  have  strong  religious 
meetings.  This  is  in  accord  with  an  important 
law  of  the  spiritual  life.  Many  churches  sustain 
various  boys'  clubs,  as  outlined  above,  and  use 
the  Christian  Endeavor  meeting  as  the  rallying 
points  of  all  their  young  people's  work.  To  those 
who  want  to  work  with  boys  apart  from  the  girls 
the  question  may  be  asked.  Why  not  organize 
a  Boys'  Christian  Endeavor  Society.'' 

The  Christian  Endeavor  Society  has  proved 
its  worth  chiefly  as  a  co-educational  society  for 
adolescents.  An  overloading  of  a  local  society 
with  adults  tends  always  to  be  a  barrier  to  actually 
reaching  the  young  people,  and  the  features'  of 
the  Society  that  are  characteristic  are  not  so 
wholesomely  applied  to  children  in  the  so-called 
"junior"  societies.  The  normal  Endeavor  Society 
is  the  first  social  grouping  of  adolescent  boys  and 

[70] 


HOW  TO  CONDUCT  A  CHURCH  BOYS'  CLUB 

girls  continuously  together.  It  is  a  delightful 
and  a  delicate  opportunity  for  a  pastor.  The 
watchful  adult  notes  the  sex-influence  at  every 
point.  It  is  this  which  helps  stimulate  to  verbal 
witness  the  reticence  of  many  a  bashful  lad, 
and  the  unconscious  preenings  and  posings  which 
accompany  both  the  social  and  religious  activities 
must  be  winsome  to  all  grown-up  people  who  are 
not  misanthropic.  The  adult  guide  will  be  quick 
to  remember  that  the  sex-life  and  the  religious 
life  are  never  more  closely  parallel  than  now. 
Many  a  boy  has  been  brought  into  the  kingdom 
by  the  mere  presence  there  of  an  innocent  girl. 
Yet  here  is  a  limitation  of  the  society  which  makes 
separate  effort  for  boys  still  necessary.  It  is  largely 
only  the  boys  who  like  girls  that  go  to  the  Chris- 
tian Endeavor  Society. 

The  splendid  idealism  of  the  Endeavor  move- 
ment is  needed  to  redeem  some  of  our  boys' 
clubs  from  pettiness  and  selfishness,  and  in  many 
churches  the  old  Societies  will,  by  furnishing 
leaders  or  supervising  committees,  conduct  the 
boys'  work. 

The  movement  has  been  criticised  for  certain 
faults  and  tendencies  of  its  life,  but  these  are 
largely  the  faults  and  tendencies  of  lack  of 
guidance  by  leaders,  and  the  sufficient  answer  has 
always  been  made  that  a  pastor  will  get  out  of 
his  Christian  Endeavor  Society  just  as  much  as 
he  puts  into  it. 

II.   The  Brotherhoods. 

Almost  every  denomination  now  has  its  national 
Brotherhood.  Some  of  these  have  a  boys' 
department.      In     the     Congregational     Brother- 

I71I 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

hoods  boys'  clubs  of  whatever  sort  are  enrolled, 
without  change  of  name  or  plan.  This  makes 
possible  federation  for  denominational  causes, 
and  makes  easy  the  transition  of  the  boys  at 
the  proper  age  to  the  men's  brotherhood  of  the 
local  church.  Some  Brotherhoods,  like  that  of 
St.  Andrew  and  that  of  Andrew  and  Philip,  have 
a  distinct  junior  department,  in  which  the  methods 
of  the  senior  branch  are  adapted  to  boys.  This 
plan,  in  the  writer's  judgment,  is  not  usually 
successful.  The  Junior  Brotherhood  of  St. 
Andrew  stands  very  strongly  for  the  idea  of  a 
select  band  of  Christian  boys  segregated  into  a 
society  for  the  purpose  of  winning  boys  who  are 
outsiders.  Most  of  us  work  rather  by  regarding 
the  Christian  boy,  as  in  the  rest  of  life,  as  part 
of  the  community  of  boys  among  whom  he  lives 
his  life  in  fellowship  and  influence. 

12.   Boys'  Camps. 

Among  the  wholesome  ways  of  living  with  boys 
none  equals  the  living  with  them  in  tents  in  God's 
out-of-doors.  A  week  of  such  association  is  worth 
a  year  of  meeting  them  once  a  week  in  the  winter. 
There  is  no  culmination  better  for  any  of  the  forms 
of  social  organization  mentioned  above  than  a 
church  camp.  If  all  leaders  of  boys  knew  how 
easy,  how  inexpensive,  and  how  safe  (with  strong 
boats,  guarded  bathing,  and  no  firearms)  such  a 
fortnight  can  be,  more  of  them  would  try  it. 

Boys  mature  and  change  so  fast  that  most 
leaders  find,  whatever  their  club  may  be  named, 
it  needs  to  change  its  plans  every  two  or  three 
years.  After  a  while  its  old  records  and  para- 
phernalia may  be  left  to  the  *'  kids  "  who  are  coming 

[72] 


HOW  TO  CONDUCT  A  CHURCH  BOYS'  CLUB 

on.     We  may  summarize  our  analyses  by  present- 
ing an  ideal 

GRADED  SYSTEM  OF  CHURCH  BOYS'  CLUBS 

10-13.   The  Boys'  Brigade,  or 

The  Boys'  Life  Brigade,  or 

The  Woodcraft  Indians,  or 

The  Brotherhood  of  David. 
14-18.   The  Knights  of  King  Arthur. 
16-21.   The  Christian  Endeavor  Society. 
18-        The  Brotherhood. 

How  shall  one  start  a  church  boys'  club? 
The  prospective  leader  will  look  about  him  first 
and  study  his  field  and  his  resources.  He  will 
select  the  prospective  members,  who  will,  as  has 
been  said,  probably  constitute  one  or  more  than 
one  Sunday-school  class.  With  some  knowledge 
of  their  home  conditions,  their  schools,  the 
neighborhood  advantages,  and  temptations,  he  will 
begin  to  frame  his  conception  of  the  kind  of  a 
club  that  will  be  likely  to  appeal  to  them  and 
hold  them.  He  will  consult  as  many  of  their 
parents  as  possible,  as  their  counsel  and  coopera- 
tion will  become  invaluable.  He  will  talk  with 
their  Sunday-school  teacher  —  probably  he  will 
be  that  teacher  himself.  After  he  has  formu- 
lated his  plans  somewhat  he  will  take  a  few  of 
the  leading  boys  into  his  confidence,  and  will 
try  to  arrange  things  so  that  they  themselves 
will  suggest  organization  and  support  his  plans. 
In  the  meantime  he  will  have  secured  the  hand- 
book of  the  form  of  organization  which  he  pro- 
poses to  use  or  will  develop  his  own,  tentatively, 
and  will  have  a  definite  and  intelligible  proposi- 

[73] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

tion  to  put  before  the  boys.  Upon  the  first  night 
of  meeting  he  will  plunge  at  once  with  the  boys 
into  plans  of  work.  Endeavoring  to  make  the 
movement  self-propulsive  from  the  start,  he 
will  insist  that  he  is  not  to  be  expected  to  endow 
the  club  either  with  money  or  with  ideas.  It  is 
not  his  club,  it  is  theirs,  and  it  will  succeed  only 
as  they  recognize  this  fact  from  the  start  and  all 
along.  Still,  while  the  tendency  of  an  adult 
leader  is  to  assume  too  much  responsibility  and 
power,  and  to  leave  too  little  to  the  boys,  it  will 
be  more  or  less  necessary  the  first  winter  to  help 
a  group  that  has  not  hitherto  worked  seriously 
together  both  with  suggestions  and  with  incentive. 
The  problem  of  order  in  the  club  is  one  that 
need  never  come  up  seriously  more  than  once. 
The  leader  should  refuse  to  hold  any  office  him- 
self, unless  it  be  that  of  secretary,  and  there 
should  be  someone,  the  president  or  the  mar- 
shal, whose  business  it  is  to  keep  the  meeting 
under  discipline.  If,  when  disorder  occurs,  the 
leader  rises  and  remarks  kindly  that  it  is  obvi- 
ous that  interest  in  the  club  must  be  impossible 
if  it  continues,  and  that  the  members  will  no 
doubt  both  recognize  this  fact  and  act  accord- 
ingly, the  public  sentiment  will  at  once  mass 
itself  against  the  offender,  and  things  will  move 
along  peaceably.  The  matter  of  order  after  the 
first  few  meetings  will  depend  almost  entirely 
upon  the  interest.  When  club  meetings  are 
uninteresting,  someone  is  sure  to  want  to  "start 
something."  Misbehavior  therefore  becomes  a 
danger  signal  to  the  leader  that  he  must  renew 
his  energy  in  getting  a  program.  It  is  neither 
an  indication  of  total  depravity  nor  of  a  desire 

[74] 


HOW  TO  CONDUCT  A  CHURCH  BOYS'  CLUB 

to  insult  himself  —  it  is  the  wholesome  appeal 
of  the  boys  for  what  is  worth  while.  The  Club 
leader  who  goes  home  after  an  unsuccessful 
evening  and  blames  anybody  but  himself  is 
pulling  the  wrong  doorbell.  It  was  not  his  busi- 
ness to  pull  the  load,  but  it  was  his  business  to 
generate  power. 

It  may  be  helpful  if  the  author  brings  out  some 
of  the  details  of  club  work  by  describing  a  typical 
evening  in  a  church  boys'  club.  This  description 
is  a  composite  picture  from  his  own  current 
experience  in  a  club  of  twenty-five  boys  of  the 
average  age  of  fifteen. 

The  leader  arrived  first.  This  statement  is 
both  literal  and  symbolic.  He  did  not  enter 
a  room  full  of  boys  who  had  already  "started 
things."  He  started  things  himself.  He  unlocked 
the  door  and  admitted  the  boys.  While  one 
turned  on  the  lights,  he  despatched  another  to 
bring  the  paraphernalia,  and,  picking  out  a  third 
who  seemed  to  be  especially  exuberant,  he  set 
him  to  arranging  the  chairs.  He  began  the  session 
at  the  appointed  moment,  regardless  of  whether 
all  were  present  or  not,  and  had  the  regular  pro- 
gram in  motion  before  someone  started  an  ex- 
temporaneous one.  All  the  officers  were  boys. 
The  leader  sat  near  both  the  presiding  officer  and 
the  secretary,  to  guide  both,  but  he  never  pre- 
sided himself.  There  was  a  boy  sergeant-at-arms. 
The  leader  did  not  preserve  order;  he  asked  the 
sergeant  to  do  it,  and  if  he  failed,  called  the  atten- 
tion of  the  house  to  the  matter.  This  massed 
the  public  sentiment  against  the  offender.  It 
might  be  remarked  that  there  was  not  very  much 
order  to  preserve,  by  which  is  meant  that  there 

[75] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

was  the  constant  stir  and  murmur  of  interest, 
but  little  or  no  confusion.  During  the  opening 
exercises  the  Lord's  Prayer  was  said.  This  was 
done  kneeling,  with  closed  eyes.  The  writer 
does  not  lay  much  stress  on  devotional  exercises 
in  a  boys'  club,  but  if  they  occur,  they  ought  to 
be  reverent.  There  was  a  little  union  business 
and  some  discussion.  The  president  refused  to 
recognize  anyone  who  did  not  properly  address 
the  chair.  Matters  of  parliamentary  procedure 
were  explained  by  the  leader,  and  were  quite 
carefully  remembered  afterward.  The  boys  had 
agreed  upon  a  five-cent  weekly  tax  and  a  similar 
fine  for  unexcused  absence.  This  was  cheerfully 
paid  and  created  all  the  revenues  needed.  The 
member  who  was  latest  to  arrive  was  designated 
as  "Jester"  at  the  next  meeting,  and  his  witti- 
cisms, delivered  when  ordered,  served  to  relieve 
any  tension.  There  was  not  any  consecutive 
program.  The  leader  often  wished  he  could 
secure  one,  but  it  was  his  first  winter  with  these 
boys,  and  he  expected  better  things  another 
season.  The  boys  were  busy  in  school  and  had 
been  confined  all  day,  so  the  meetings  were  quite 
informal  and  varied.  One  evening  there  was  an 
initiation,  another  a  visitation  from  a  neighboring 
club,  once  an  hour  of  progressive  games,  again  a 
family  physician  gave  an  instructive  talk.  Often 
the  session  closed  with  a  hide-and-seek  about 
the  darkened  parish  house  or  some  indoor  athletics. 
The  club  had  no  gymnasium  and  owned  no 
athletic  material  except  a  baseball.  The  whole 
damage  which  they  did  to  the  building  during  the 
winter  amounted  to  less  than  two  dollars.  This 
was  accidental  and  was  cheerfully  paid  for.     They 

[76] 


HOW  TO  CONDUCT  A  CHURCH  BOYS'  CLUB 

met  but  once  a  week  from  October  to  June  on 
Monday  evenings,  from  seven  to  eight.  Appar- 
ently they  did  not  do  much.  But  at  the  end  of 
winter  several  assets  were  counted.  They  stuck 
together.  They  insisted  on  meeting  after  the 
leader  was  willing  to  stop.  After  the  first  sifting, 
the  attendance  averaged  over  eighty  per  cent. 
They  grew  increasingly  to  initiate  plans  for  them- 
selves, and  were  ready  in  the  spring  to  sustain  a 
ball  nine  and  to  conduct  a  camp.  Nothing 
was  said  in  the  club  about  Sunday-school,  but 
not  one  of  them  left  the  school  during  the  year  and 
their  attendance  became  more  regular.  Nothing 
was  said  in  the  club  about  the  church,  but  several 
joined  the  church  at  Easter.  They  had  made  a 
voluntary  contribution  to  beautifying  the  church 
building.  The  minister,  their  leader,  and  one 
of  their  Sunday-school  teachers,  who  were  with 
them  all  winter,  had  gotten  acquainted  with  them 
all  pretty  thoroughly,  and  were  now  known  by  all. 
These  were  the  superficial  results.  It  may  also 
be  supposed  that  they  had  been  educating  each 
other,  that  they  had  become  a  little  more  fair, 
honest,  and  loyal  to  each  other,  that  they  were 
now  capable  of  joint  action,  that  they  had  grown 
to  think  of  the  church  as  their  home,  as  during 
the  winter  in  several  small  ways  they  began  to 
serve  it,  and  that  there  was  to  each  a  beginning 
of  an  interpretation  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  as 
the  Church,  as  the  minister  and  the  club  had 
revealed  it.  This  was  to  be  regarded  as  only  one 
step  in  the  process  of  educating  a  group  of  boys 
into  a  life  of  wholesome  religion  and  of  generous 
devotion  to  the  church  of  Christ.  In  itself  it 
was  worth  while,  but  as  an  early  part  of  a  sys- 

[77] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

tematic,  sensible  Christian  method  it  was  regarded 
by  its  leaders  as  of  indispensable  importance. 

It  is  interesting  and  sometimes  amusing  to 
watch  the  education  of  the  members  of  a  club 
by  attrition.  The  boy  who  has  been  quite  a 
hero  in  the  Sunday-school  class  because  of  his 
ingenuity  in  annoying  his  teacher  is  surprised 
to  find  that  he  is  regarded  as  a  nuisance  when 
he  starts  operations  in  the  club.  The  lad  who 
has  shone  in  the  Christian  Endeavor  meeting  is 
chagrined  to  find  that  his  club  fellows  are  not 
much  interested  in  his  oratory.  The  boys  who 
are  always  talking  and  always  proposing  something 
are  quieted  by  seeing  their  pet  plans  voted  down 
or  by  being  delegated  to  carry  them  into  execu- 
tion, while  the  silent  members  are  stirred,  by 
real  interest,  into  discussion  and  are  encouraged 
to  find  that  they  can  think  on  their  feet.  In- 
stinctively the  leader  finds  himself  challenged  by 
the  most  difficult  and  the  least  winsome  boys, 
and  he  is  helped  daily  both  to  understand  them 
and  to  bring  out  the  best  that  is  in  them  by 
the  revelations  and  the  support  of  the  club.  It 
is  the  writer's  earnest  testimony  that,  after  he  has 
given  a  most  proportionate  attention  and  affection 
to  such  boys  he  has  been  rewarded  in  later  years, 
not  only  by  the  warmest  appreciation  from  them, 
but  by  the  distinct  evidence  that  his  help  and  the 
club  life  were  actually  crucial  and  transforming 
in  their  development. 

Of  course  a  longer  experience  will  give  a  pro- 
portionately more  important  result.  The  writer 
recalls  such  an  experience  of  seven  consecutive 
years  with  a  certain  group,  with  whom  he  played 
and  prayed,  sat  up  nights,  camped  out  and  played 

[78I 


HOW  TO  CONDUCT  A  CHURCH  BOYS'  CLUB 

games,  sharing  as  much  of  their  life  as  was  not 
spent  at  home  or  in  school.  He  has  abundant 
reason  to  believe  that  his  guidance  was  in  many 
ways  directive  of  their  later  living  and  that  they 
went  out  into  life  distinctly  marked  by  his  per- 
sonal touch.  This  kind  of  work  does  not  always 
seem  to  be  appreciated,  but  in  this  instance  even 
this  reward  was  not  withheld.  The  last  evening 
brought  an  expression  which  may  be  quoted, 
not  only  because  it  was  so  satisfying,  but  because 
it  seemed  to  define  the  very  nature  and  quality 
of  the  influence  that  had  been  exerted.  A  fare- 
well social  evening  had  finished,  a  presentation 
had  been  made,  with  an  awkward  speech  by  the 
boy  orator,  and  an  equally  awkward  one  by  their 
leader.  Then  came  forward  the  finest  fellow  of 
the  lot,  and  leaning  over  into  the  circle,  said, 
"What  this  ring  means,  Mr.  Forbush,  is  that  not 
one  of  us  fellows  is  ever  going  to  disappoint  you!" 

"Who  builds  in  Boys  builds  lastingly  in  Truth, 
And  'vanished  hands'  are  multiplied  in  power, 
And  sounds  of  living  voices,  hour  by  hour, 
Speak  forth  his  message  with  the  lips  of  Youth. 

"  Here,  in  the  House  of  Hope,  whose  doors  are  Love, 
To  shape  young  souls  in  images  of  right, 
To  train  frail  twigs  straight  upward  toward  the  Light; 
Such  work  as  this  God  measures  from  above! 

"And  faring  forth,  triumphant,  with  the  dawn, 
Each  fresh  young  soul  a  missioner  for  weal. 
Forward  they  carry,  as  a  shield,  the  seal 
Of  his  example  —  so  his  work  goes  on. 

"Granite  may  crumble,  wind  and  wave  destroy, 
Urn,  shaft  or  word  may  perish  or  decay. 
But  this  shall  last  forever  and  a  day  — 
His  living,  loving  monument,  a  Boy!" 

[79] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

WHAT  OTHERS  SAY 

The  author  has  asked  a  few  persons  whom  he  knows 
to  have  had  long  and  successful  experience  with  boys 
to  seal  this  chapter  with  their  testimony  as  to  the 
value  of  church  boys'  clubs: 

"The  church  needs  both  the  Sunday  worshipper  and 
the  weekday  worker.  What  that  work  is,  and  what 
that  worship  means,  can  be  taught  most  easily  and 
practically  in  the  freedom  and  intimacy  of  the  boys' 
club. 

"Our  club  started  in  1889  and  it  has  done  its  simple, 
healthy  work  ever  since,  being  today  in  charge  of  a 
man  who  eighteen  years  ago  entered  the  club  as  a  small 
boy  of  nine  or  ten  years. 

"I  believe  with  all  my  heart  just  what  I  have 
written." 

—  Miss  A.  B.  Mackintire. 

"During  the  last  twelve  years  I  have  come  in  contact 
with  many  boys,  in  various  church  clubs,  where  I 
have  been  fully  persuaded  of  the  very  great  value  of 
such  work.  Many  of  these  boys  I  know  intimately, 
having  found  the  club,  preeminently  the  Knights  of 
King  Arthur,  the  most  effective  means  to  such  personal 
acquaintance.  I  think  I  can  hardly  overestimate 
the  force  of  a  wisely  conducted  club,  both  for  visible 
results  and  for  the  greater  permanencies  of  life  in 
character." 

—  (Rev.)  Raymond  M.  Dow  Adams. 

"The  manly  associations  afforded  by  church  clubs 
are  serving  as  a  powerful  factor  in  arousing  within 
boys  the  disposition  to  become  men.  In  these  clubs 
Christian  leaders,  together  with  their  younger  brothers, 
practise  quite  fraternally  the  real  spirit  of  the  Christian 
life.  Two  years'  work  with  boys  in  two  church  clubs 
has  convinced  me  that  if  more  such  work  had  been  done 

f8o] 


HOW  TO  CONDUCT  A  CHURCH  BOYS'  CLUB 

twenty  years  ago,  men  approaching  middle  life  would 
now  be  in  our  churches  in  far  greater  numbers." 

—  (Rev.)  Herbert  L.  Packard. 

"After  twenty-three  years'  work  with  boys  as  teacher 
and  pastor  (six  years  of  which  were  spent  in  a  boys' 
boarding  school),  I  am  glad  to  give  my  testimony 
that  the  one  who  would  do  most  for  the  boy  must 
keep  close  to  him  for  a  long  time.  To  win  his  confi- 
dence before  he  enters  the  period  of  adolescence  and 
to  keep  "next"  during  all  those  tremendous  years  is 
the  sure  way  to  the  greatest  service. 

"I  am  very  glad  that  you  are  bringing  this  to  the 
mind  of  our  workers.  The  notion  that  one  can  take 
a  fresh  group  of  lads  each  year,  or  even  every  two 
years,  and  then  drop  them  for  others,  is  one  which  I 
fear  is  not  uncommon,  but  one  which  in  my  judgment 
can  never  lead  to  the  finest  nor  the  most  permanent 
results." 

—  (Rev.)   Elliott  F.  Talmadge. 

"  For  three  years  I  have  been  using 's  methods 

with  from  thirty  to  forty  boys  between  the  ages  of 
twelve  and  eighteen.  I  was  satisfied  that  from  the 
psychological  standpoint  the  idea  was  all  right;  now  I 
know  that  it  works.  It  has  done  wonders  for  our  boys, 
physically,  mentally,  and  spiritually.  I  like  it  for  its 
manly  appeal  and  for  its  appeal  to  a  boy's  honor. 
Best  of  all,  it  makes  for  the  ideal  manhood  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  leads  the  boys  naturally  on  to  church 
membership." 

—  (Rev.)  T.  C.  Richards. 


HINTS   FOR  FIRST  HAND  STUDY 

Send  for  the  material  of  the  particular  forms  of 
organization  that  seem  most  likely  to  be  adapted  to 
the  boys   you   have   in   mind.     Study   the   ideals   and 

[8i] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

methods  of  each  in  view  of  the  facts  you  have  just 
learned. 

Try  out  one  plan  with  some  boys.  Do  the  author 
of  it  the  justice  to  follow  his  directions  patiently, 
unless  you  find  they  actually  defeat  your  purposes. 
As  you  assimilate  his  ideas,  begin  to  be  original  and  use 
your  own.  Look  out  that  the  machinery  of  the  organ- 
ization does  not  obscure  your  view  of  the  boys  them- 
selves or  tend  to  prevent  your  knowing  individuals. 
When  it  does,  get  somebody  else  to  tend  the  machinery, 
while  you  go  after  the  boys. 


OUTLINE  FOR  STUDY  OF  THE  TOPIC 

Feasible  Restrictions  of  Membership  of  a  Church  Boys'  Club. 
Methods  of  Meeting  the  Expense  of  a  Club. 
The  Governing  Board:  its  personnel  and  powers. 
A  Five  Years'  Program  for  one  Church  Boys'  Club. 


SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  READING 
ON  THIS  TOPIC 

As  the  organized  forms  of  work  with  boys  issue  pamphlets  of 
information,  many  of  which  are  ephemeral,  the  reader  is  simply 
directed  to  the  following  addresses  for  further  advice: 

The  International  Sunday-school  Association,  Hartford  Bldg., 
Chicago. 

The  Boys'  Brigade,  Central  Savings  Bank  Bldg.,  Baltimore. 

The  Boys'  Life  Brigade,  56  Old  Bailey,  London,  E.C. 

The  First  Aid  Association,  6  Beacon  St.,  Boston. 

The  Woodcraft  Indians,  Doubleday,  Page  &  Co.,  New  York. 

The  Boy  Scouts  of  America,  124  East  28th  St.,  New  York. 

The  Brotherhood  of  David,  171  Taylor  Avenue,  Detroit. 

Phi  Delta  Pi,  State  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Bldg.,  Boston. 

The  Knights  of  King  Arthur,  Taylor  and  Third  Avenues,  Detroit. 

The  Young  People's  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor,  Tremont 
Temple,  Boston. 


82] 


VII 
BOYS  AND  THE  KINGDOM 

Having  studied  pretty  carefully  the  methods 
of  religious  nurture  In  the  church,  school,  and  club, 
let  us  now  turn  to  the  problem  of  training  boys  In 
religious  expression  through  service.  There  are 
naturally  three  fields  for  such  service:  the  home, 
the  church,  and  benevolence  or  missions. 

The  religious  life  of  a  boy  must  chiefly  be  lived 
In  his  home.  Not  very  much  of  the  journey  to 
heaven  can  be  taken  In  congregations.  It  is 
rather  difficult,  however,  for  the  church  worker 
to  do  very  much  consciously  affecting  a  boy's 
home  conduct.  He  can  arrange  the  hours  of 
meeting  for  his  boys'  club  so  that  they  will  not 
Interfere  with  home  work  or  home  study,  and 
Incidentally  he  can  teach  lessons  or  make  sugges- 
tions from  his  observation  of  an  Individual  boy's 
conduct  which  will  modify  the  boy's  ideals  and 
life.  Probably  the  most  Important  thing  which 
the  school  teacher  or  club  leader  can  do  for  the 
home  Is  to  exalt  the  authority  of  the  boy's  father 
and  the  sacredness  of  motherhood.  A  close  and 
hearty  sympathy,  expressed  by  frequent  confer- 
ences between  teachers,  church  workers,  and 
the  parents  of  the  boys,  will  be  sure  to  form  a 
three-fold  cord  of  inspiration  and  influence.  It 
is  the  happy  testimony  of  many  church  workers 

[83] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH   BOYS 

that  fathers  and  mothers  have  come  to  them  to 
say  that  because  of  the  church  school  or  club 
the  boy's  conduct  in  the  home  has  noticeably 
improved. 

In  the  field  of  church  work  the  important  thing 
to  say  seems  to  be  that  it  is  necessary  to  give 
boys  work  suited  to  the  different  grades  of  their 
development.  The  plan  of  messenger  service 
in  a  Sunday-school  is  a  good  one  for  younger 
boys,  but  it  is  not  applicable  for  very  many  years 
in  a  boy's  life.  The  older  boy  would  prefer  to 
be  an  attendant  at  the  church  door,  or  to  become 
an  usher.  Younger  boys  like  to  distribute  church 
bulletins,  but  it  would  be  more  agreeable  to  older 
boys  to  print  the  bulletin,  or  to  publish  a  church 
paper.  Young  lads  are  easily  organized  into 
boys'  choirs,  but  as  there  are  a  number  of  years 
later  when  boys  ought  not  to  sing,  the  plan  of 
a  boy  choir  cannot  be  made  continuous.  Probably 
the  most  useful  field  of  service  in  the  church 
for  boys  is  as  Sunday-school  teachers.  It  may 
seem  heretical  these  days,  when  the  highest  require- 
ments are  being  held  up  for  teaching  religion, 
that  one  should  suggest  boys  as  teachers  of  religion. 
It  is  the  writer's  experience,  however,  that  they 
are  quite  as  willing  to  take  preparatory  courses 
of  study  as  adults  are,  and  their  sympathy  for 
younger  boys  and  their  interest  in  them,  espe- 
cially in  athletic  lines,  is  so  much  keener  than 
that  of  grown  people,  especially  of  women,  that 
a  group  of  boys  of  sixteen  or  seventeen  will  often 
make  an  admirable  corps  of  teachers  for  the  junior 
department.  Just  as  a  class  begins  to  get  hard 
to  hold  in  the  main  room  is  a  good  time  to  suggest 
to  them  the  delight  of  volunteering  as  a  group 

[84] 


BOYS  AND  THE  KINGDOM 

to  take  charge  of  their  younger  brothers  In  the 
school.  Not  all  can  teach,  but  nearly  all  can  be 
used  In  the  administration  of  the  department. 
The  "gang"  spirit  of  older  boys  and  girls  can 
sometimes  be  used  by  sending  them  off  as  a 
chorus  to  sing  in  a  mission  or  a  hospital.  Such  a 
preliminary  service  often  enlists  young  people  in 
an  enthusiastic  way  In  further  and  continuous 
service.  I  have  in  mind  a  downtown  church  of 
limited  field  from  which  a  young  people's  society, 
going  as  a  body  Into  the  foreign  section,  has  not 
only  built  and  administered  successfully  a  social 
settlement,  but  has  actually  saved  its  own  life  and 
that  of  Its  mother  church.  That  church  is  alive 
because  It  has  found  something  worth  living  for. 
The  great  field  of  missionary  benevolence  Is 
one  in  which  It  is  practicable  to  Interest  boys 
at  every  stage.  One  who  has  hopes  for  a  future 
generation  devoted  to  the  work  of  the  Kingdom 
needs  no  argument  to  convince  him  of  the  im- 
portance of  developing  such  interest.  Those 
who  have  watched  boys  who  are  being  addressed 
by  some  live  missionary  or  social  worker  have 
realized  that  the  subject  was  one  not  Inherently 
alien  to  them,  and  has  learned  from  a  skilled 
presentation  what  qualities  in  it  are  most  likely 
to  appeal  to  boys.  They  are  Interested  In  heroic 
personalities.  They  are  unprejudiced  against  mis- 
sions as  a  cause,  and  they  are  generous  in  heart. 
They  are,  however,  poor  in  purse.  While  it  Is 
probably  more  Important  to  get  a  boy  to  make 
personal  sacrifices  for  the  causes  in  which  he  is 
interested  than  anything  else,  this  Is  a  matter 
which  must  largely  be  inculcated  In  the  home. 
There  is  another  kind  of  giving  which  may  be  per- 

[85] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

formed  in  the  church,  and  in  this  church  workers 
have  the  part  of  leadership.  The  "gang"  spirit 
can  be  used  in  missionary  interest  in  giving,  as 
much  as  anywhere  else.  It  inspires  a  boy,  even 
in  his  personal  sacrifices,  if  he  can  earn  money, 
together  with  other  boys,  and  give  with  them, 
and  the  collective  amount  is  so  much  more  respect- 
able than  what  he  can  do  unaided  that  it  dignifies 
his  own  small  contribution. 

In  selecting  the  causes  to  which  a  group  of  boys 
should  be  asked  to  contribute,  the  studies  which 
we  have  made  of  their  dispositions  and  certain 
applications  of  common  sense  may  guide  us. 
Other  things  being  equal,  it  is  better  to  encourage 
the  boys  to  give  to  causes  supported  by  their 
own  denomination.  Picturesque  as  undenomina- 
tional benevolences  often  are,  they  are  usually 
well  supported  financially.  The  church  to  which 
the  boys  belong  has  causes  that  are  just  as  pic- 
turesque, which  are  in  infinitely  greater  need, 
and  if  a  boy  is  to  grow  up  an  intelligent  church- 
man, he  should  have  a  hearty  loyalty  to  the 
agencies  for  which  his  church  is  alone  responsible 
and  which  must  perish  without  his  aid.  The 
causes  to  which  boys  should  be  asked  to  con- 
tribute should  have  the  following  qualities: 
First,  —  they  should  be  specific  and  concrete. 
We  ought  to  begin  with  a  person  who  is  on  the 
field,  the  place  where  he  is  working,  and  the 
task  which  he  has.  Do  not  begin  with  a  society, 
a  country,  or  a  history.  Second  —  the  causes 
should  be  varied.  While  the  boys  may  give  to 
only  one  at  a  time,  these  should  be  selected,  in 
a  course  of  years,  so  as  to  educate  broadly.  They 
should    present    a    number   of   countries,    and    a 

186] 


BOYS  AND  THE   KINGDOM 

number  of  racial  situations  in  .America,  and 
represent  the  work  of  several,  if  not  all,  of  the 
national  boards  of  the  denomination.  Third,  — 
they  should  be  continuous.  They  should  enable 
boys  to  become  well  acquainted  with  the  person- 
alities in  charge,  and  demand  increasingly  an 
interest  in  the  development  of  the  work  itself. 
Fourth,  —  they  should  be  picturesque.  While 
value  is  not  to  be  sacrificed  to  attractiveness,  it 
is  important  to  emphasize  to  young  people,  who 
are  at  a  rather  blase  and  fickle  period,  that  the 
church  societies  are  doing  some  of  the  most 
picturesque  work  on  record.  Usually  the  objects 
of  help  should  be  boys  and  girls,  so  that  young 
people  may  be  giving  to  young  people.  Fifth,  — 
the  causes  chosen  should  be  abundantly  able 
to  supply  fresh  information,  which  will  keep  up 
interest  and  inspire  the  spirit  of  eagerness  and 
anticipation  of  more  news.  Sixth,  —  the  interest 
should  be  cooperative.  The  boys  should  not 
only  know,  they  should  know  together.  They 
should  not  only  give,  they  should  give  together. 
One  of  the  oldest  ways  of  encouraging  cooperative 
giving  that  has  been  established  by  the  mission- 
ary boards  is  that  of  issuing  a  certificate  with 
"shares  of  stock"  in  some  united  young  people's 
missionary  cause.  Probably  the  missionary  ship 
in  the  Pacific,  the  "Morning  Star,"  was  the  first 
enterprise  to  which  young  people  were  thus  ever 
asked  to  subscribe  stock.  Most  of  the  denom- 
inational boards  have  plans  of  this  sort.  In 
the  Congregational  Brotherhood,  for  example, 
a  certificate  has  been  printed  in  the  national 
colors,  bearing  the  facsimile  signatures  of  the 
Brotherhood  leaders.     The  share  represented  by 

[87] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

these  certificates  are  ten  cents  each,  so  that  a 
certificate  for  ten  dollars  represents  one  hundred 
shares.  The  boy  who  gives  ten  cents  through 
his  club  or  class  may  feel  that  one  of  those  hundred 
shares  is  his  own. 

The  shares  are  graded  in  a  rather  ingenious 
manner  by  a  series  of  seals,  as  a  recognition  of 
the  amount  given,  as  follows: 

Certificate  to  a  Club  Certificate  to  an  Individual 

Twenty-five  Cents  a  Member  Red  Seal 

Fifty  Cents  a  Member  White  Seal 

One  Dollar  a  Member  Or  One  Dollar  Gift  Blue  Seal 

Two  Dollars  a  Member  Or  Two  Dollar  Gift  Bronze  Seal 

Three  Dollars  a  Member  Or  Three  Dollar  Gift  Silver  Seal 

Five  Dollars  a  Member  Or  Five  Dollar  Gift  Gold  Seal 

As  an  illustration  of  possibilities  in  this  direction,  it  may  be 
helpful  to  enumerate  the  causes  which  were  selected  after  careful 
study  by  the  writer,  as  President  of  the  Congregational  Boys'  Brother- 
hood. The  first  of  these  was  a  work  in  the  Shanshi  Province  of 
China.  This  province  is  both  the  Pennsylvania  and  the  Minnesota 
of  China.  Because  of  its  natural  resources  it  is  in  the  line  of  first 
evolution  of  the  awakened  China,  and  it  is  destined  to  become  one 
of  the  world's  greatest  industrial  centers.  Its  ground  is  also  sacred 
with  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  in  the  Boxer  massacres.  Here,  in  a 
province  practically  alone,  two  young  American  ministers  and  two 
doctors,  with  their  wives,  are  pioneering  in  one  of  the  most  interesting 
and  hopeful  fields  on  earth.  The  boys  are  invited  particularly  to 
give  to  a  hospital  work  for  boys  and  girls,  which  is  alleviating  pitiable 
conditions  and  saving  the  lives  of  thousands,  and  also  to  elementary 
village  schools,  which  are  the  bases  of  the  great  scheme  of  Chris- 
tian education  that  culminates  in  the  North  China  Union  College. 
Fifteen  dollars  takes  care  of  a  hospital  cot  or  a  village  school  for 
a  whole  year.  The  second,  —  the  boys  are  being  interested  in  a 
Philippine  mission  in  the  Island  of  Mindinao,  which,  with  its  million 
souls,  has  been  entirely  assigned  to  Congregationalists.  The  people 
are  mostly  raw  savages,  and  the  interior  of  the  island  is  scarcely 
explored.  It  is  the  only  foreign  station  of  the  denomination  that 
is  under  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  and  it  is  the  only  mission  of  the 
church  now  ministering  to  untouched  savages.  Third,  —  of  course 
there  is  a  boys'  mission  to  Indians.  The  Santee  Training  School 
in  North  Dakota  is  said  to  be  the  best  Indian  School  in  America. 
The  picturesqueness  of  Indian  life  is  echoed  in  the  school  cata- 

[88] 


BOYS  AND  THE  KINGDOM 

logue,  in  which  such  poetic  Indian  names  of  the  students  are 
retained  as  "Cuts  the  Cloud,"  "Beautiful  Spring  Flower,"  "Flying 
Eagle,"  etc.  The  industrial  work  is  also  practical,  and  the  training 
of  teachers  for  the  native  schools  is  most  important.  Fourth, — 
the  boys  are  being  interested  in  the  South,  in  the  institution 
at  Tougaloo,  Miss.,  where  negro  boys  in  the  heart  of  the  black 
belt  are  struggling  to  secure  an  industrial  education,  and  that  is 
helping  to  solve  one  of  our  most  serious  national  problems. 
Fifth,  —  our  last  frontier  is  Montana.  Its  mines,  its  irrigation  and 
reclamation  projects,  and  its  water  power,  make  it  indeed  "the 
Treasure  State."  Here  still  linger  the  Indian,  the  cowboy,  the 
miner,  and  the  forester.  Sixth,  —  the  most  backward  portion  of 
continental  America  is  New  Mexico.  In  ignorance,  cruelty,  and 
immorality  it  represents  much  that  is  a  shame  to  the  republic. 
Yet  this  great  domain,  which  is  to  be  a  State,  has  an  old  and  roman- 
tic history,  wonderful  architectural  achievements,  beautiful  native 
handcraft,  marvels  of  scenery,  and  great  undeveloped  resources. 
The  mixture  of  Indian  and  Spanish  has  produced  a  race  whose 
histories,  character,  and  possibilities  are  quite  unknown.  Boys  are 
being  asked  to  give  the  boys  and  girls  of  New  Mexico  a  chance 
to  escape  the  bondage  of  darkness  that  surrounds  them,  in  the  new 
industrial  school  near  the  border  line  between  America  and  Mexico. 
Finally,  the  problem  of  the  city  and  the  alien  is  being  brought  to 
the  boys'  attention  by  telling  them  of  a  most  unique  and  heroic 
man,  a  Slav  by  birth,  who  is  on  the  firing-line  of  the  problems  of 
immigration  and  poverty  in  the  industrial  city  of  Duquesne,  Penn. 

Other  denominations,  of  course,  have  equally  attractive  causes 
to  present  to  boys,  but  these  paragraphs  may  be  helpful  to  leaders, 
as  suggesting  the  kinds  of  objects  which  are  available. 

Those  who  find  the  adult  missionary  magazine 
and  adult  missionary  literature  uninteresting 
may,  with  a  little  care  and  some  correspondence, 
sift  out  just  the  right  object  in  which  they  can 
interest  themselves  and  their  boys. 

There  are  two  possible  ways  in  which  boys  can 
cooperate  in  the  benevolent  movements  of  their 
church.  They  may  give  to  all  the  causes.  They 
could  divide  their  gifts  among  the  different 
treasurers  in  a  series  of  objects,  such  as  have  been 
mentioned  above.  The  advantages  of  this  method 
are  the  opportunities  it  affords  for  a  broad  and 
continuous   missionary  education,  preparatory  to 

[89  J 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH   BOYS 

a  lifelong  loyalty  to  all  the  varied  work  of  the 
church.  Or  they  may  choose  one  or  more  of 
such  causes.  The  advantage  of  this  plan  is  that 
the  interest  felt  naturally  becomes  intensified, 
and,  the  gifts  to  the  single  cause  becoming  larger, 
the  young  people  are  more  likely  to  reach  the 
point  where  they  can  become  personally  related 
to  their  chosen  field. 

As  to  methods  of  money-raising  a  few  suggestions 
may  be  given.  While  the  best  way  to  raise  money 
everywhere  is  to  give  it,  a  mutual  gift  made 
from  the  proceeds  of  an  entertainment  is  a  good 
way,  because  it  represents  partnership,  and  because 
there  are  many  wholesome  ways  in  which  the 
dramatic  instinct  of  boys  may  be  exercised.  Some 
kind  of  dramatic  entertainment,  which  will  take 
a  great  portion  of  the  winter  to  prepare,  has  its 
own  educative  value,  and  brings  the  season  to 
a  triumphant  climax.  A  short  list  of  such  avail- 
able entertainments  is  given  at  the  close  of  this 
book. 

Out  of  the  hundreds  of  reports  of  boys'  clubs  which  come  to 
the  writer  every  year,  he  has  selected  a  few  ingenious  methods  which 
may  be  suggestive,  both  by  their  novelty  and  by  the  large  success 
and  results  which  have  been  reported. 

Several  boys'  clubs  have  given  exhibits  of  boys'  work,  veritable 
exnositions  of  boy  life,  including  on  one  occasion  boys'  pets,  boys' 
collections,  boys'  manual  work,  and  an  evening  of  boys'  music  and 
oratory. 

A  boys'  club  in  Provincetown,  Mass.,  has  purchased  a  vacuum 
cleaner  and  are  renting  it,  with  two  boys  to  operate  it,  at  fifty  cents 
per  hour.  After  three  weeks'  toil  the  machine  is  almost  paid  for, 
and  several  of  the  boys  have  earned  encouraging  amounts.  Their 
leader  gives  the  boys  fifteen  cents  an  hour  until  the  machine  pays 
for  itself,  and  after  that  each  boy  will  get  twenty-five  cents  an  hour 
for  his  labor. 

The  church  boys  held  a  "Farmer's  Supper,"  in  connection  with 
the  girls'  society,  in  Rutland,  Vt.,  which  was  profitable  and  enjoyable. 
A  small  food  fair  and  entertainment  which  the  boys  gave  raised  $35. 

[90] 


BOYS  AND  THE   KINGDOM 

A  group  of  Durham,  N.  H.,  boys  netted  $30  from  a  lecture  given 
for  their  benefit  by  a  war  correspondent. 

The  boys'  Club  of  Sackett  Harbor,  N.  Y.,  has  introduced  a  printing 
press.  The  club  members  print  the  church  calendar  and  church 
notices,  and  do  some  paying  job-work. 

A  boys'  club  of  Andover,  Me.,  won  a  game  of  baseball  at  Andover 
Fair,  which  gave  them  $1$. 

An  Olean,  N.  Y.,  boys'  society  g?.ve  a  military  entertainment 
which  was  a  great  success.  They  sold  tickets  in  advance,  which, 
with  donations  from  a  few  interested  men,  raised  $333. 

A  boys'  club  of  Dodge  City,  Kans.,  gave  a  pie  supper  and  cleared 
over  $10.  Inside  the  hall  door  was  set  a  table  from  which  the 
guests  bought  their  tickets,  which  were  eight-inch  strips  of  card- 
board. Along  the  strip  was  printed,  "Collee,  Pie,  Plate,  Napkin, 
Fork,"  etc.  As  the  customers  passed  along  the  table,  they  were 
served  with  the  different  articles  by  several  boys,  who  tore  off  that 
part  of  the  slip  which  had  on  it  the  name  of  the  article  he  had  served. 
Only  fifteen  cents  was  charged  for  a  quarter  of  a  pie,  two  doughnuts, 
a  cup  of  coffee  with  cream  and  sugar,  but  a  good  profit  was  made. 

Just  before  the  holidays  a  boys'  club  of  Sturgeon  Bay,  Wis., 
held  a  successful  "Art  Exhibit"  and  cleared  over  $30  selling  Copley 
prints  and  other  pictures. 

From  Andover,  Me.,  comes  a  report  from  the  boys  of  a  remu- 
nerative day  of  wood  chopping. 

In  Malone,  N.  Y.,  a  boys'  club  collected  waste  paper  and  sold  it, 
for  which  ^78.85  was  realized.  A  food  sale  netted  them  ^20.  The 
club  members  have  been  conducting  an  entertainment  course  costing 
$200  for  talent. 

Is  it  too  much  to  expect  that  these  entertain- 
ments shall  not  only  become  a  joint  means  of 
joy,  expression,  and  beneficence,  but  that  they 
shall  also  be  uplifting?  There  is  great  need  for  us 
to  study  the  possible  place  of  the  festival  in  life, 
and  especially  in  church  life.  The  writer  saw 
an  announcement  of  a  boys'  Bible-class  exhibit 
in  a  church,  conducted  by  its  teacher,  who  is  a 
boys'  Y.  M.  C.  A.  secretary,  a  few  days  ago, 
in  which,  with  a  number  of  excellent  items,  was 
a  blackberry  pie-eating  contest.  Such  merry  ex- 
ercises probably  do  no  permanent  gastronomical 
or  moral  harm,  but  it  must  be  possible  to  be  just 
as  merry  and  keep  just  as  close  to  boys  and  yet 

[91] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

make  even  their  church  festivals  a  contribution 
toward  what  we  in  America  need  so  much  to 
learn,  the  beautiful  ordering  of  life. 

WHAT  OTHERS  SAY 

"If  a  boy  has  gone  through  his  teens  and  has  not 
formed  the  habit  of  service,  we  may  try  to  break  him 
in  when  he  is  twenty-five  or  thirty,  but  it  is  a  difficult 

task." 

—  Edgar  M.   Robinson. 

"The  way  to  make  a  boy's  conscience  braver  is  to 
reinforce  it  with  a  commission." 

—  George  A,  Coe. 

"The  implanting  of  the  missionary  spirit  so  as  to 
give  it  control  of  the  life  of  every  pupil  may  fairly  be 
said  to  be  the  chief  and  sole  purpose  of  the  Sunday- 
school." 

—  Charles  G.  Trumbull. 

HINTS  FOR  FIRST  HAND  STUDY 

Choose  a  definite  missionary  cause  and  begin  to  col- 
lect material  in  the  way  of  information  and  illumination 
upon  it.  Get  all  the  juvenile  literature  about  the  field. 
Read  over  the  adult  literature  with  boys  solely  in  mind. 
Look  for  strong  personalities,  picturesqueness,  adven- 
ture and  heroism,  elements  for  pity,  lively  incidents, 
each  in  turn.  Try  to  prepare  this  field  as  a  cause  to 
present  to  boys.  Begin  with  its  persons.  Illuminate 
its  conditions.  Have  ready  a  tangible  plan  for  relief. 
Eliminate  everything  that  is  unnecessary  and  dis- 
tracting. Present  your  data  at  a  meeting  for  business 
and  discussion,  and  listen  carefully  to  what  is  said, 
for  future  guidance.  After  a  plan  has  been  decided 
upon,  push  it  patiently  and  for  a  sufficient  period  to 

[92] 


BOYS  AND  THE   KINGDOM 

have  secured  from  it  missionary  education  for  the  boys 
and  for  it  some  measure  of  interested,  sacrificial  sup- 
port from  the  boys. 

OUTLINE    FOR    STUDY   OF   THE   TOPIC 

The  Boys'  Field  of  Service : 

The  Home, 

The  Church, 

Benevolence  or  Missions. 
How  Much  More  Can  our  Boards  Afford  to  Do  to  Develop  the 
Interest  of  our  Boys? 

Methods  of  Money-Raising  from  Boys. 

The  Sources  of  a  Boy's  Interest  in  Missions. 

Making  Youthful  Interest  in  Missions  a  Permanent  Life  Principle. 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  READING 
ON  THIS  TOPIC 

George  H.  Trull,  Missionary  Methods  in  the  Sunday-school. 
This  contains  an  abundance  of  plans  and  methods  and  a  graded  list 
of  missionary  books  for  young  people's  reading.  New  York:  Presby- 
terian Board  of  Foreign  Missions. 

Emma  E.  Koehler,  The  Boys'  Congress  of  Missions.  New  York: 
Westminster  Press. 


93 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

I.  A  SELECT  REFERENCE  LIST  OF  BOOKS  UPON  THE 
NATURE  AND  NURTURE  OF  THE  INDIVIDUAL 
BOY: 

For  fathers,  teachers,  pastors,  and  workers  with  boys. 

The  Boy's  Body:  Stuart  H.  Rowe,  The  Physical  Nature  of  the  Child 
and  How  to  Study  It.  New  York:  The  Macmillan  Co.  J.  M.  Tyler, 
Growth  and  Education.  Boston:  Houghton,  Mifflin  Co.  Winfield 
S.  Hall,  From  Youth  into  Manhood.  New  York:  The  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
Press.     The  best  help  in  sex  instruction. 

Boys'  Play:  George  E.  Johnson,  Education  by  Plays  and  Games. 
New  York:  Ginn  &  Co.  Jessie  H.  Bancroft,  Games  for  the  Play- 
ground, Home,  School  and  Gymnasium.  New  York:  Macmillan  Co. 

Boys'  Camp:  Charles  S.  Hanks,  Camp  Kits  and  Camp  Life.  Chi- 
cago: Sports  Afield.  Horace  Kephart,  Book  of  Camp  and  Wood- 
craft. New  York:  Field  and  Stream.  Francis  H.  Buzzacott,  The 
Complete  Campers'"  Manual,  published  by  the  author.  Chicago. 
Brief  but  adequate. 

Boys'  Handicraft:  D.  C.  Heath,  The  American  Boys'  Handy 
Book.  New  York:  Charles  Scribncr's  Sons.  A.  Ncely  Hall,  The 
Boy  Craftsman.     Boston:  Lothrop,  Lee  &  Shepard  Co. 

The  Boy's  Mind:  Frederick  Tracy,  The  Psychology  of  Childhood. 
Boston:  D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.  A  standard  account  of  child  develop- 
ment. Edgar  J.  Swift,  Mind  in  the  Making.  New  York:  Charles 
Scribner's  Sons.  Brilliant,  separate  essays.  G.  Stanley  Hall,  Y^outh  : 
Its  Education,  Regimen  and  Hygiene.     New  York:  D.  Appleton  Co. 

Boys'  Nature  Study:  Clifton  F.  Hodge,  Nature  Study  and  Life. 
New  York:  Ginn  &  Co. 

Story-Telling:  Sarah  Cone  Bryant,  How  to  Tell  Stories  to 
Children.     Boston:  Houghton,  Mifflin  Co. 

Boys'  Reading:  Books  for  Boys:  lists  in  ff^ork  with  Boys,  Decem- 
ber, 1909.  Fall  River:  Thomas  Chew.  C.  B.  Kern,  Selected  Books 
for  Boys.    New  York:  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Press. 

The  Boys'  Spiritual  Nature:  H.  M.  Burr,  Studies  in  Adoles- 
cent Boyhood.     Springfield:  The  Seminar  Publishing  Co. 

Bringing  up  Boys:  George  A.  Dickinson,  Your  Boy:  His  Nature 
and  Nurture.  London:  Hodder  and  Stoughton.  Kate  Upton  Clark, 
Bringing  up  Boys.     New  York:  Crowell. 

[95] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

Books  of  Advice  to  Give  Boys:  Winfield  S.  Hall,  From  Youth 
into  Manhood.  New  York:  The  Y.  M  .  C.  A.  Press.  Sex  information. 
Charles  F.  Dole,  Th^  Young  Citizen.  Boston:  D.  C.  Heath  &  Co. 
N.  C.  Fowler,  Jr.,  Starting  in  Life.  Boston:  Little,  Brown  &  Co. 
On  the  choice  of  a  calling.  David  Starr  Jordan,  The  Call  of  the 
Twentieth  Century.  Boston:  American  Unitarian  Association.  On 
the  kind  of  a  man  the  world  wants  to-day.  Choosing  a  Career,  pre- 
pared by  the  New  York  High  School  Association,  75  Jefferson  Ave., 
Brooklyn.  A  helpful  booklet  on  the  subject,  with  a  valuable  list  of 
books  on  the  different  vocations. 

II.  A  SELECT  REFERENCE  LIST  OF  BOOKS  UPON  THE 
SOCIAL  PROBLEMS  OF  BOYS: 

For  Men's  Classes  and  Brotherhood  Discussions. 

Juvenile  Crime  and  Probation:  Thomas  Travis:  The  Young 
Malefactor.  New  York:  Thos.  Y.  Crowell  &  Co.  Our  best  book  on 
delinquency.  Homer  Folks,  The  Care  of  Destitute,  Neglected  and 
Delinquent  Children.  New  York:  Macmillan  Co.  The  Survey, 
the  magazine  of  social  and  philanthropic  progress.  New  York, 
22nd  St.  and  4th  Ave.  Current  new  items.  Judge  Ben  B.  Lindsey, 
The  Beast  and  the  Jungle,  a  book  on  his  experiences  with  boys  and 
politics. 

Playgrounds:  Ernest  B.  Mero,  American  Playgrounds.  Boston: 
American  Gymnasia  Co. 

Education:  Paul  H.  Hanus,  Educational  Aims  and  Educational 
Values.  New  York:  Macmillan  Co.  Frank  Parsons,  Choosing  a 
Vocation.  Boston:  Houghton,  Mifflin  Co.  George  A.  Coe,  Edu- 
cation in  Religion  and  Morals.     New  York:  Fleming  H.  Re  veil  Co. 

0.  J.  Kern,  Along   Country  Schools.     New  York:  Ginn  &  Co. 
Religious  Nurture:  Charles  E.  McKinley,  Educational  Evan' 

gelism.     Boston:  The  Pilgrim  Press. 

Local  Work  for  Boys:  A  Survey  of  the  Boys  of  Detroit,  in  "Asso- 
ciation Boys,"  for  October.  New  York:  The  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Press. 
A  study  of  what  needs  to  be  done  in  one  city,  not  thorough,  but 
suggestive. 

III.  SPECIAL   BIBLIOGRAPHIES   FOR   WORKERS    WITH 
BOYS: 

1.  An  Ideal  Sunday-school  Curriculum  for  Boys,  with  refer- 
ences to  the  text-books  which  at  the  date  of  writing  appear  most 
useful  for  teaching  these  subjects: 

9-1 1.  —  Bible  Stories,  with  sketch,  color  and  picture  work:  The 
International  Graded  Lessons,  Junior  Series  (Old  Testament).  The 
Junior  Bible  (Bible  Study  Lessons:  Old,  followed  by  New  Testament). 

12-14.  —  Bible  Biography,  with  writing  and  other  notebook 
work:  The  Life  of  Jesus,  by  Gates.     The  Story  of  Paul  of  Tarsus,  by 

[96] 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Atkinson.  Heroes  of  the  Faith,  by  Gates  (Biblical  and  Christian 
Biography). 

15  -18  —  Biblical  and  Christian  Ethics  and  History,  with 
discussions.  Life  Questions  of  High  School  Boys,  by  Jenks.  The 
Comrades  of  Jesus,  by  Perkins.  The  Gospel  of  the  Kingdom,  by 
Strong.  Life  Problems,  by  Doggett-Burr-Bali-Cooper.  The  Conquer- 
ing Christ,  by  Boone. 

These  special  text-books  and  others  are  analyzed  in  the  list  follow- 
ing: 

2.  An  Analysis  of  Some  Recent  Sunday-school  Text-books 
FOR  Boys. 

It  is  coming  to  be  realized  by  teachers  of  boys  that  the  Interna- 
tional uniform  lessons,  prepared  to  be  used  in  all  grades,  are  really 
adult  lessons  in  purpose  and  plan  of  selection.  Those  who  use  them 
should  know  that  the  weekly  articles  in  the  Sunday-school  Times, 
Philadelphia,  by  Eugene  C.  Foster,  entitled  "My  Class  of  Boys," 
the  ingenious  devices  suggested  in  "The  Boys'  Teacher,"  Chicago, 
and  the  articles  of  high  standard  and  the  varied  helps  in  "The  Pilgrim 
Teacher"  are  the  best  teaching  material  published. 

Teachers  of  boys  will  look  forward  with  eagerness  to  the  complete 
International  Graded  Lessons,  which  are  now  published  for  boys  only 
up  to  their  twelfth  year. 

I.  Juniors:  9-12. 

The  International  Graded  Sunday-school  Lessons:  Junior  Series, 
prepared  by  Josephine  L.  Baldwin.  Published  by  the  denominational 
houses. 

These  beautiful  handbooks,  including  teachers'  book,  picture 
cards  and  pupils'  folders,  represent  the  triumph  in  the  International 
Sunday-school  movement  of  educational  ideals.  The  material  is 
arranged  to  be  used  beginning  in  October  and  closing  in  June,  but 
there  are  lessons  for  summer  time  also.  The  Scripture  is  chosen 
wisely  for  the  grade,  the  stories  are  charmingly  told,  the  pictures  have 
artistic  merit  and  the  teachers'  helps  are  plain  and  adequate. 

This,  the  third  and  last  of  this  series  now  ready,  adds  to  the  mate- 
rial of  the  earlier  series  a  little  more  varied  handwork.  These 
lessons,  like  the  others,  are  selected  mainly  from  the  Old  Testament. 
Being  undated,  they  can  all  be  used  at  any  time,  though  they  are 
written  with  some  relation  to  the  seasons  and  the  church  festivals. 

The  Life  of  Jesus,  by  Herbert  W.  Gates.  The  University  of 
Chicago  Press. 

This  material,  which  includes  a  teacher's  manual  and  a  beauti- 
fully printed  pupil's  workbook,  with  a  set  of  pictures,  is  the  best 
yet  published  for  the  later  years  of  this  department  and  is  used  suc- 
cessfully even  beyond  this  period.  Each  lesson  contains  blanks  in 
the  text  which  the  pupil  fills  out  and  a  space  for  a  pasted  picture,  and 
there  is  some  map  work  and  memorizing.  By  doing  the  written 
work  the  boy  composes  a  paraphrase  of  the  Scripture  story  and  when 

[97] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

he  is  through  he  has  become  co-author  of  a  life  of  Jesus.  The 
teacher's  book  introduces  fine  literary  allusions  and  is  of  strong 
spiritual  fervency.  The  optional  use  of  stereographs  is  regularly 
provided  for. 

Heroes  of  the  Faith,  by  Mr.  Gates,  a  text-book  in  Biblical  and  Chris- 
tian biography.  The  Bible  Study  Publishing  Co.,  Boston.  In  this 
book,  published  in  quarterly  form,  Bible  characters  and  those  of 
modern  history  are  brought  into  ingenious  contrast,  and  the  meth- 
ods are  interest-provoking  and  original. 

Early  Heroes  and  Heroines,  by  Harold  B.  Hunting  and  Charles 
F.  Kent.     The  Bible  Study  Publishing  Co.,  Boston. 

The  teacher's  manual  is  in  pamphlet  form  and  the  pupils'  folders 
are  sections  of  a  Junior  Bible  to  be  filled  in  and  bound  by  the  pupil. 
Each  section  includes  a  colored  Tissot  picture,  than  which  no  more 
vigorous  Old  Testament  illustrations  exist.  The  course  is  arranged 
so  as  to  be  complete  in  a  year  with  or  without  the  summer  months. 
The  Scripture  is  chosen  with  a  recognition  of  historical  criticism.  The 
teacher's  helper  is  admirable  and  is  indispensable  to  the  use  of  the 
course.  There  is  nothing  better  on  the  Old  Testament  for  this  grade. 
Succeeding  courses,  three  in  number,  are  announced  in  this  series, 
to  follow  this  book,  the  four  including  the  whole  Bible  story. 

Budget  of  Manual  Work  for  Sunday-school  Teaching,  by  Preston 
Fiddis.     The  Newell  Press,  Baltimore. 

This  elaborate  scrapbook  of  handwork  was  designed  for  guidance 
to  teachers  desiring  to  do  what  the  International  people  call  "sup- 
plemental" work,  which  in  many  cases  has  proven  to  be  fully  as 
interesting  and  important  as  the  regular  work.  It  constitutes  the 
best  help  we  have  on  teaching  elementary  knowledge  of  the  contents 
of  the  books  of  the  Bible  and  the  outlines  of  Bible  geography,  and  it 
is  worthy  to  stand  as  a  text-book  for  a  year's  work  in  those  subjects. 
The  book,  which  is  for  the  teacher,  contains  beautiful  examples  of 
actual  work  done,  and  is  the  best  guide  to  handwork  that  exists. 
It  tells  where  to  buy  the  various  materials  that  may  be  used  by  the 
pupils. 

An  Introduction  to  the  Bible  for  Teachers  of  Children,  by  Georgia 
L.  Chamberlin.     The  University  of  Chicago  Press. 

A  difficult  thing  to  do,  carefully  done.  The  reviewer  is  convinced 
that  the  work  could  be  used  successfully  in  a  month  older  grade 
than  the  author  has  planned,  and  hence  he  places  it  nearer  the  seventh 
than  the  fourth  grade  of  school.  Fiddis'  manual  would  be  better 
for  earlier  years,  with  this  as  a  book  of  reference  for  the  teacher. 

Child  Life  in  Mission  Lands,  by  Ralph  E.  DifFendorfer,  3.r\d  China 
for  Juniors  (also  Japan,  Alaska,  Africa,  and  Coming  Americans), 
by  Katherine  E  Crowell.  All  published  by  the  Young  People's 
Missionary  Movement,  New  York. 

All  these,  though  intended  for  Mission  Bands,  are  well  written 
and  well  illustrated  handbooks  which  would  also  be  suitable  for 
missionary  education  in  the  Sunday-school. 

[98] 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

II.   Intermediate:  12-14. 

Men  who  Dared,  by  Charles  Gallaudet  Trumbull.  The  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
Press,  New  York. 

These  eighteen  studies  in  Old  Testament  manhood  include  a 
teacher's  book,  some  scholars'  slips  for  home  study  and  some  fairly 
well  chosen  pictures.  The  strength  of  the  course  is  the  live,  thought- 
provoking  questions  and  colloquial  material  in  the  teachers'  book. 
The  study  is  ethical,  not  at  all  historical  in  purpose.  The  teacher 
will  be  helped  by  the  book's  simplicity.  The  danger  to  be  avoided 
in  its  use  is  preachiness. 

What  Manner  of  Man  is  This  ?  by  William  D.  Murray.  The 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  Press,  New  York. 

Nineteen  lessons.  A  teacher's  book  and  pupils'  study  slips. 
Suggestions  are  made  for  picture  work,  the  use  of  stereographs  and 
drawing,  map  making  and  pulp  work.  These  useful  exercises  are 
made  optional  and  are  not  very  well  related  to  the  main  current  of 
the  teaching,  but  a  bright  teacher  could  find  them  suggestive. 

Men  0}  the  Bible,  by  W.  H.  Davis.  The  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Press, 
New  York. 

Of  this  course,  of  twenty-five  lessons,  the  same  praise  and  the 
same  criticism  would  need  to  be  made. 

The  Story  of  Paul  of  Tarsus,  by  Louise  Warren  Atkinson.  Uni- 
versity of  Chicago  Press. 

This  consists  of  a  text-book,  a  pupils'  book  for  home  work,  and 
another  for  class  use.  It  resembles  in  plan  and  method  Gates' 
Life  of  Jesus.  It  emphasizes  the  boyhood  and  the  education  of 
Paul,  and  places  the  various  parts  of  his  history  in  the  proportions 
in  which  they  are  valued  by  a  young  person's  mind.  It  is  an  admi- 
rable piece  of  work,  the  only  satisfactory  juvenile  text-book  on  the 
life  of  Paul  ever  published. 

Heroes  of  Israel,  by  Theodore  G.  Scares.  The  University  of 
Chicago  Press. 

A  dignified  text-book  for  teacher  and  another  for  the  scholar, 
including  thirty-five  lessons,  a  year's  work.  The  American  Revised 
Version  is  used  and  the  selections  are  chosen  so  as  to  avoid  critical 
and  moral  difficulties.  The  method  is  that  by  which  English  classics 
are  introduced  to  high  school  students  and  the  historical  and  Oriental 
background  are  clearly  painted.  An  intelligent  teacher  would  make 
this  course  of  great  educational  value  to  a  class  of  boys.  The  ethical 
teaching  is  wholesome  and  constant.  It  excels  other  books  in  its 
emphasis  upon  actual  Bible  reading. 

Travel  Lessons  on  the  Old  Testament  and  Travel  Lessons  on  the  Life 
of  Jesus,  by  William  Byron  Forbush.  Underwood  &  Underwood, 
New  York. 

The  plan  is  to  enter  into  the  very  atmosphere  of  Bible  life  by 
visiting  the  places  in  order,  through  the  only  instrument  that  gives 
the  third  dimension  to  pictures,  the  stereoscope.     The  Old  Testa- 

[99] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH  BOYS 

ment  outfit  consists  of  the  teacher's  book,  the  stereoscope  and  a  col- 
lection of  fifty-one  stereoscopic  photographs  of  the  Old  Testament 
places.  The  New  Testament  book  is  accompanied  by  thirty-six 
such  standpoints.  Suggestions  are  also  made  for  a  class  "log"  of 
the  travel  and  individual  notebooks  and  handwork. 

The  Life  oj  Jesus,  by  Herbert  W.  Gates.  The  University  of 
Chicago  Press. 

This  text-book  is  so  good  and  has  been  found  so  useful  for  this 
grade,  as  well  as  the  one  previous,  for  which  it  was  prepared,  that  it 
is  named  again.  In  this  grade  the  teacher  would  introduce  varied 
suggestions  beyond  the  assigned  written  work. 

III.  High  School  Years:  14-18. 

Lxje  Questions  0/  High.  School  Boys,  by  Jeremiah  W.  Jenks.  The 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  Press,  New  York. 

Professor  Jenks  has  composed  the  most  usable  text-book  for  the 
discussion  of  Christian  ethics  that  has  yet  been  published.  It  is 
most  suggestive.  Any  live  teacher  will  rejoice  in  it,  because  it 
gets  the  boys  to  talking. 

The  Gospel  of  Mark,  by  Ernest  D.  Burton.  The  University  of 
Chicago  Press. 

This  study  presents  the  Gospel  text  with  notes  and  questions 
in  the  same  form  as  a  Shakespeare  text  is  issued  for  high  school 
students,  and  a  teacher  who  could  interest  a  class  in  the  latter  ought 
to  be  able  to  in  the  former.  It  is  the  writer's  conviction,  however, 
that  most  teachers  cannot  at  present  depend  upon  an  initial  interest 
from  high  school  boys  in  such  a  thoughtful  course.  We  need  very 
much  a  course  that  emphasizes  the  heroic  and  practical  elements  of 
Jesus'  character  in  terms  that  will  attract  boys. 

The  Men  of  the  Old  Testament,  by  Leon  Kurtz  Williams.  The 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  Press,  New  York. 

A  teacher  in  the  Hill  School  has  prepared  this  book  from  experi- 
ence in  the  required  Bible  study  classes  of  that  school.  It  is  the 
first  constructive  study  for  boy^s  written  from  the  modern  view  of 
the  Old  Testament.  It  is  constructive,  informing  and  devotional  in 
character.  There  is  no  special  teacher's  manual,  but  the  same  kind 
of  a  teacher  who  could  use  Burton's  book,  mentioned  above,  would 
be  successful  with  this  one.  The  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  the  private  school 
of  course  get  a  quality  of  attention  which  the  voluntary  class  in 
Sunday-school  seldom  reaches. 

In  this  connection  we  may  name  a  book  of  similar  plan  and 
quality  from  the  same  publishers,  The  Life  of  St.  Paul,  by  Arthur  G. 
Leacock. 

Life  Studies,  by  various  authors.  The  Unitarian  Sunday  School 
Society,  Boston  and  Chicago. 

A  teacher's  handbook,  pupils'  leaflets  and  some  pretty  good  picture 
slips  for  a  yearly  study  in  Christian  biography.  The  heroes  studied 
are  chosen  each  as  an  illustration  of  a  Christian  life  and  the  emphasis 

[100] 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

is  ethical  rather  than  biographical.  There  is  much  attractive  and 
intelligent  material  and  these  studies  are  a  commendable  endeavor 
in  the  too  much  neglected  field  of  the  pedagogy  of  biography. 

Starting  in  Life,  by  N.  C.  Fowler,  Jr.,  and  fFhat  Can  a  Young  Man 
Do  ?  by  Frank  W.  Rollins.     Both  by  Little,  Brown  &  Co. 

These  two,  though  not  prepared  as  text-books,  would  be  excellent 
as  guides  to  personal  preparation  and  discussion  in  a  class  of  young 
men  who  wished  a  course  in  the  choice  of  a  vocation.  Mr.  Fowler's 
book  takes  up  thirty-three  topics  in  411  pages;  Mr.  Rollins',  fifty- 
four  topics  in  339  pages.  They  seem  to  be  of  very  equal  value. 
The  teacher  would  wish  to  supplement  these  books  by  the 
useful  bibliography  in  the  ten-cent  pamphlet.  Choosing  a  Career, 
to  be  obtained  of  E.  W.  Weaver,  25  Jefferson  Ave.,  Brooklyn. 

The  Comrades  of  Jesus,  by  Richard  R.  Perkins.  The  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
Press,  New  York. 

A  brief,  practical  discussion-study  of  the  characters  of  the  disciples 
of  Christ  written  by  a  schoolmaster  for  high  school  boys.  It  com- 
bines the  biographical  and  the  ethical,  the  suggestive  and  the  co- 
operative, in  a  skilful  way.  A  very  attractive  and  useful  feature 
is  a  bookmark  study-slip  for  the  use  of  the  boys  who  might  be  scared 
by  a  text-book. 

The  Bible  Study  Union,  of  Boston,  announces  for  publication 
January,  191 1,  a  new  course  on  Christian  Conduct,  based  on  a  com- 
parative use  of  the  Bible  and  of  modern  instances,  which  has  been 
outlined  by  Professor  George  A.  Coe. 

IV.  Older  Boys:  18-21. 

The  Gospel  of  the  Kingdom,  by  Josiah  Strong.  The  Institute 
of  Social  Service,  New  York. 

An  excellent  series  of  studies,  published  in  monthly  instalments 
for  men's  discussion  classes,  on  the  relation  of  Christians  to  all  the 
pressing  social  problems  of  the  day.  Informing,  constructive  and 
inspiring. 

Life  Problems,  by  Doggett-Burr-Ball-Cooper.  The  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
Press. 

Vigorous  discussions  of  the  most  intimate  questions  of  personal 
morals,  intended  for  debate  in  groups  of  young  men.  A  course  for 
youths  a  little  older  than  those  using  Professor  Jenks'  book. 

The  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Press  publish  a  variety  of  texts  for  men's  Bible 
classes,  of  which  they  will  be  glad  to  send  a  catalogue.  These,  being 
beyond  our  purview,  we  have  not  examined. 

The  Conquering  Christ,  by  Ilsey  Boone.  Bible  Study  Publishing 
Co.,  Boston. 

A  study  in  quarterly  form,  and  with  a  teacher's  helper,  of  com- 
parative religion  and  of  present  missionary-  problems.  The  course, 
though  advertised  for  adults,  would  be  a  vcr\-  rich  one  for  older  boys 
and  would  introduce  into  the  school  a  subject  of  most  important 
interest,  the  kingdom-idea  in  its  worldwide  movement. 

[lOl] 


CHURCH  WORK  WITH   BOYS 

3.  Recommended  Dramatic  Entertainments  for  Boys. 

A  Dramatization  of  Longfellow^ s  Song  of  Hiawatha,  by  Florence 
Holbrook.  Boston:  Houghton,  Mifflin  Co.  It  will  take  weeks  of 
time  in  club  sessions,  if  desired,  in  the  wholesome  handicraft  of  making 
the  Indian  costumes.     For  boys  10  to  14. 

The  Young  Knight,  or  How  Gareth  Won  His  Spurs,  by  James 
Yeames;  also,  Gawain  and  the  Green  Knight,  by  the  same  author. 
Detroit:  Knights  of  King  Arthur.  Stirring  and  somewhat  humorous 
dramatizations  of  the  most  boylike  of  the  King  Arthur  stories,  which 
can  be  given  with  simple  paraphernalia.     For  boys  14  to  18. 

The  Drama  of  Joseph.  New  York:  William  Beverly  Harrison.  A 
reverent  and  dramatic  rendering  of  the  best  Old  Testament  story. 
For  boys  10  to  14. 

How  the  Missionary  Came  to  Bear  Camp.  Boston:  Woman's 
Home  Missionary  Rooms.  A  short  home  missionary  sketch,  with  a 
strong  boy  interest.     For  boys  12  to  14. 

A  Town  Meeting,  by  Frank  E.  Hiland.  Walter  H.  Baker  &  Co., 
Boston.     For  boys  14  to  20. 

Roll  Call  of  the  Nation:  patriotic,  with  singing;  by  Caroline  E. 
Dickenson  and  Stanley  Schell.  Edgar  S.  Werner  &  Co.,  45  E.  19th 
St.,  New  York. 

Sailors^  Entertainment,  by  Stanley  Schell.  A  musical  play.  Edgar 
S.  Werner  &  Co.,  New  York.     For  boys  14  to  18. 

Valley  Forge,  a  war  play,  by  E.  S.  Lovejoy.  Edgar  S.  Werner  & 
Co.,  New  York.     For  boys  14  to  18. 

"Books  About  Boys,"  being  the  July  number,  1909,  of  Work 
With  Boys.    Thomas  Chew,  Fall  River. 

A  larger  list  of  books  about  boy  nature,  boys'  physical,  intellec- 
tual, social  and  moral  activities,  boys'  organizations  and  periodicals 
about  work  with  boys.  Those  who  wish  to  go  even  more  deeply 
into  the  subject  are  urged  to  secure  this  number. 


102  ] 


INDEX 

Adolescence     7>  io>  25,  55 

Amusements   35,  36,    42 

Athletic  clubs   64 

Benevolences  of  boys     85 

Big  Brother    movement    29 

Biographical  method  of  Sunday-school  teaching  ....  10,    50,    51,    52 

Books  of  advice  to  give  to  boys 96 

Books  of  boys'  reading      95 

bringing  up  boys      95 

camps     95 

dramatics  for  boys'  clubs    102 

education  of  boys     96 

for  Sunday-school  teachers     95 

for  Sunday-school  teaching .f  .  .  96 

the  "  gang  " 2 

handicraft    95 

juvenile  crime   96 

local  work  for  boys      96 

nature  study 95 

play      9S 

playgrounds 96 

probation     96 

religious  nurture 96 

social  education  of  boys    96 

story-telling 95 

the  boy's  body    95 

the  boy's  mind    95 

the  boy's  spiritual  nature 95 

Boys,  allegiance    9 

"  crazy  period"     34 

environment I4>  'S 

epochs      9 

Boys  and  the  kingdom    22,  83 

Boys'  brigade      23,  65,  73 

clubs     3 

clubs,  church 61 

life  brigade 66,  73 

Boy  scouts 66 

Brotherhood  discussions    71 

work  with  boys 5,  28,  3 1 ,  43 

of  David   67,  73 

I  103] 


INDEX 

Brotherhoods,  denominational 7I>  7* 

Camps 63,  67,  72 

Card-playing 35,  37,  38 

Catechetics    57 

Certificate  plan  for  benevolence,  the      87 

Christian  Endeavor  Society,  the    20,  70,  73 

Church  attendance  of  boys    S6,  57 

Church  boys'  clubs 61,  '62,  73 

Church  control  of  its  boys'  work     62 

Church,  functions  of  the,  for  boys      14 

Church  membership  of  boys   56,  57 

Church  work  for  boys 84 

Class  clubs 63 

Criminality  among  boys 1 1 

Curricula  for  Sunday-schools     53,    96 

Dancing 35,  39,  4° 

Decision  Day IS,  54,  55,  5^ 

Debating  method  of  Sunday-school  teaching    50,    52 

Development  of  boys,  chart  of    9 

Dramatic  instinct,  the 42 

Dramatics  in  boys'  clubs      102 

Educational  ideals  in  boys'  clubs      73 

Environment  of  boys 14 

Evening  in  a  boys'  club      74 

Exhibits  in  Sunday-school  work    51 

Expectancy,  influences  of 13 

Expenses  of  boys'  clubs    62,  76 

First  aid  association,  the 66 

"  Fool  Age,"  the     143 

"Frats"     42 

Friendship,  utilization  of     22,  24,  26 

"Gang,"  action  of  the 57 

allegiance     9 

characteristics     9 

culminating  year  of   •  .  62 

influence  of    I3,  55 

instinct  of    5 

spirit  of    33 

Graded  boys'  clubs        63,  73 

Habit,  period  of    15 

Handicraft 67 

Home,  the 14 

Individual,  the   4,  8,  12 

[104] 


INDEX 

International  Sunday-schcxjl  lessons    30,  97 

Knights  of  King  Aithur 23,  68,  73 

Leadership  in  work  with  boys    20 

training  of 28 

Manual  method  of  Sunday-school  teaching  50,  98 

Missions  and  boys 87,  88 

Modifying  influences  in  boys'  development I3>  S8 

Money-making  in  a  boys*  club      90 

Messenger  service 84 

Nature  study    67 

Older  boys,  special  work  with    33 

Perils  of  boys    34 

Periods  of  boys'  development 8,  9,  11,  13 

Phi  Delta  Pi   68 

Play  .  .  .  _ 22,  25,  61 

Preparation  of  boys  for  church  membership 56 

Racial  prototypes  of  boys'  development    9 

Religious  development  of  boys    9,    13 

Religious  nurture 96 

Reserve  of  boys    2,    14 

Resourcefulness,  period  of 9,  i6 

Revivals     10,   14 

Self-assertive  period  9,  11,  13 

Self-government  in  clubs 62 

Sentiment,  period  of    10 

Sex,  influence  of       13 

Sex-instruction    34,   35 

Stages  of  boy  life   9 

Summer  work  with  boys     63 

Sunday-school  courses 30,  31,  96,  97 

extension 19,  20 

function  of  the    47 

methods     30 

Temperament,  influence  of     13 

Text-books  for  Sunday-schools    97 

Theatre,  the 36,  40,  42 

Training  leaders 28 

Vocational  training  4»  43 

Will-progress  of  boys     9 

Woodcraft  Indians,  the      66,  73 

I105I 


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